


Tilted To The Left

by RainingCoffee



Series: Wibbly Wobbly We All Fall Down [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Family, Father-Daughter Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-03-08 19:38:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 67,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13465143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainingCoffee/pseuds/RainingCoffee
Summary: Willa was just walking her dog, she wasn't expecting to trip her way into a universe where the Doctor was real.





	1. One step to the left

**Author's Note:**

> So first off, to those of you that might be mad that I'm posting an entirely new fic when you are waiting for a chapter of Finding Neverland, don't worry. I'm in the process of entirely revamping the next chapter. I had it all written out and ready to post but I just wasn't happy with it and ending up starting from scratch again. 
> 
> This fic is brought to you by my motivation to see the Doctor be a parent. There seems to be a lack of fics like this in the community. 
> 
> General disclaimer. All recognizable Doctor Who characters do not belong to me. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

On the day it happened, I had just been minding my own business. The temperature was a brisk 60 degrees f and would probably be one of the last nice days of the year. So, to take advantage of that, I had decided to take my dog for a walk. 

Which was exactly what had happened, until I suddenly stepped onto a patch of grass that my foot went straight through. My foot, followed by the rest of my body as my momentum carried me forward. The world spins, then rights itself, and I go crashing straight into hard grating.

Groaning in pain, I cradle my wrist to my chest.

“Oi!” A male voice calls out.

I look up to find a middle aged man frowning down at me. “Sorry sir.” I say to him, throat thick with pain. “I was just walking my dog and-“ The rest of my sentence is forgotten as I get a look at where I was now. 

It definitely wasn’t the park I had been walking through earlier. This looked more like a set for a tv show. A very familiar tv show. I look back at the man in front of me. Honestly, I had no idea how I hadn’t recognized him in the first place. 

“How’d you get in here?” Chris, because it was Christopher Eccleston in front of me, demands. 

I frown up at him. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

His eyes narrow. “How’d you get into my Tardis?” 

It clicks and I relax. “Oh this is a hallucination right? That would make sense.” 

Chris kneels down next to me. “Hallucination?”

“What else could this be?” I ask him. 

Chris takes out the sonic screwdriver, pressing the button on the side and running it over me. He frowns down at the readings, face becoming angry. Smacking his screwdriver, he scans me again. 

I tilt my head to the side in confusion. This was a very strange hallucination, not that I could ever remember having had one in the past to compare this to. “What are you doing?”

Ignoring my question, Chris looks up at me with blazing eyes. “What are you?” He demands. 

“Huh?” I ask, confused. 

“Is this a trick? A trap for the last time lord? I’m not buying it. Everyone is gone. I’m the last!” He yells at me.

I lean away from him in apprehension. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” 

Chris reaches forward and grabs my wrists, either not hearing or ignoring my cry of pain as he does so. “It won’t work.”

“You’re hurting me!” I never thought hallucinations could get violent. My wrist burns as the bones shift together. Stop, please!

Chris’s eyes widen. The look on his face shifts from anger to disbelief. From disbelief to realization. He releases my wrists immediately. 

Scrambling to my feet, I put some distance between us. He raises his hands in the universal ‘I won’t hurt you’ signal but I keep an eye on him, ready to move at the first sign of movement in my direction. 

Chris stands up and I take a step back in response. He pauses, running a hand over his face and sighing deeply. 

“Oh stupid me.” Chris mutters to himself. “Stupid, old Doctor.” 

“I have no idea what you’re playing at.” I tell him, my voice rising the longer I talk. “Or how you got this set, but this is sick. I’m not okay with this.” 

Chris looks confused. “What are you talking about?” 

I clench my left hand, the one that isn’t hurt, into a fist. “I’m talking about all of this. You! You’re Christopher Eccleston. And this is the set of Doctor Who.” 

“Doctor who?” His asks, voice going high pitched in confusion. 

“Don’t act all surprised. You’re the one who plays the main character on the show. I’m not falling for it.” I tell him, unimpressed. 

I take another step backwards. If I remember correctly, between the show and the brief glimpse of the room I got earlier, the door should only be a few feet behind me now. Spinning around, I sprint towards the door and open it, ignoring Chris’s warning shout. I notice the fact that there isn’t anything to step on around the same time that arms come around my waist and yank me back inside before I fall. Which I’m fairly grateful for because the only thing outside of the door is space. 

The momentum is a bit too much and we both end of hitting the ground hard. A bitten off whimper falls from my lips as my hand gets jostled.

The man behind me, who I’m starting to think isn’t actually Christopher Eccleston after all, mutters a curse and shifts. “It’s not every day one tries to pitch themselves into space.” He muses. 

“It’s real.” I murmur. “But how can this be real?”

The Doctor, for how can it be anyone other than the Doctor at this point, hums. He pinches me on the elbow, ignoring my answering hiss. “Feels pretty real to me.”

I sit up, turning towards him. “You’re the Doctor.” 

He smiles, though the wariness in his eyes tell me that he isn’t entirely comfortable with what I just said. “Yep, that’s me!”

“But that’s not possible.” I tell him. I’m fairly certain I’m not hallucinating at this point. I’ve never hallucinated in the past and this is far beyond anything I could come up with on my own. 

“And why’s that?” He asks me

“This is all a tv show.” I tell him. “The Doctor and his Tardis, next stop everywhere.” A sharp bolt of pain arcs through my head. I bite my cheek harshly, tasting blood. Stupid migraines, I don’t have time for them right now. 

The Doctor raises an eyebrow. “Think I’d know if I was in a tv show.” 

“Fair enough.” I nod. “I mean it’s not as though you’ve been wrong about anything in the past.” Note the sarcasm. He levels an unimpressed look in my direction. I sigh. “Sorry, that was rude.”

“How about a name first, before we debate whether or not I’m in a tv show.” The Doctor asks me. 

“Willa.” I tell him. 

He smiles at me, holding a hand out for me to shake. “I’m the Doctor, but you seem to know that already.” 

I awkwardly take his hand with my left hand. The moment our hands touch it feels as though my whole chest vibrates. I pull back in alarm. The look on the Doctor’s face is unsurprised. 

Rubbing at my chest, I send him another suspicious look. “That didn’t happen when we touched earlier.”

“No.” He agreed. “I wasn’t trying to connect earlier.” The Doctor taps me on the nose, hand moving faster than I can flinch back from. He stands up, offering me a hand to help me up. 

“I..don’t understand.” I admit to him, hesitantly taking his hand. My chest doesn’t vibrate this time so that’s something. 

“I know, Willa.” The Doctor tells me. His attention turns to my hand. “Let’s get this fixed up.” The Doctor places a soft hand on my arm, leading me down a corridor. After several turns down a hallway I got lost in the moment we stepped into, we enter a room that looks like a doctor’s office. It has a couple raised tables, and cabinets full of what looks to be medicine. 

“Sit down.” The Doctor directs me. 

I go over to one of the tables and climb my way up. It’s harder than it should be with one hand. The Doctor putters around in one of the cabinets on the side wall. He comes back with an armful of things, dumping them on the bed next to me. 

The Doctor manipulates my hand so it’s pointed mostly straight, scanning it with some sort of hand held machine. I grit my teeth against the pain. “This’s a scanner.” The Doctor tells me. The machine beeps, and he reads the information display. “Yep, broken.” 

I restrain the urge to roll my eyes. The angle that it was at made it very clear that it was broken. 

“This’ll hurt.” The Doctor warns me. He restraightens my hand, quickly placing a thin transparent fingerless glove on it. It goes down my forearm a couple of inches. Once in place, the glove instantly hardens, creating a brace to keep it still while it heals. 

I marvel at the technology. The Doctor turns away, then back, offering me two pills. “One for pain, the other to encourage healing.” 

Taking the pills out of his hand, I bite my lip. “None of them have aspirin in them right? I’m kinda allergic to it.” 

The Doctor shakes his head. “Nah, no aspirin here.” He offers me a glass of water. 

I murmur my thanks, taking the glass of water and using it to wash down the pills. 

“So how old are you Willa?” The Doctor asks, pulling a chair over and sitting down next to the table. 

“Seventeen.” I tell him, hugging my knees.

“American, seventeen.” He muses. “Oh! You’d be going to university next right?”

I shake my head, resting it on my knees afterwards. “No. I got the equivalent of my GED when I was fifteen. Went to university after that. I’m slated to get my double bachelors this fall.” 

The Doctor smiles, leaning forward. “What degrees?”

I’ve had this conversation with countless people, many of whom weren’t actually interested in it. But the Doctor seems genuinely interested in my response. “Anthropology and History.” I blink slowly, repressing a yawn. 

He notices anyways. “Well then. How about we find you a room.”

My mouth drops open. “Wait. Here?” 

“Did you think I was going to drop you off in London and call it a day?” The Doctor frowns at me. 

“Well, I was kinda hoping you were going to shoot for somewhere closer to home for me.” I admit 

The Doctor’s face falls. He gets up from the chair and jumps up on the table next to me. “I think you know already.” He starts, voice soft. 

I close my eyes, nestling my head further into the cover my legs provide. “This could still be a hallucination.” I mumble, even though I don’t believe it myself at this point. 

He hums. “Suppose that’s true, but that leads me to my next question. Do you really believe this is a hallucination?” 

“No.” I whisper. “Everything has felt..different since I first got here. Like the world was always tipped one degree to the left, but because I was used to it I never noticed it until I went somewhere that wasn’t tipped like that.” My nose wrinkles. “Actually it’s nothing like that. I don’t even know.”

The Doctor’s hand come down on the top of my head, ruffling my hair. I sigh and lean against his shoulder. His fingers comb through my hair, the repetitive motion relaxing me either further. It must have lulled me to sleep, because the next thing I’m aware of is being woke up by Rose Tyler. Shouting. 

“-r child?” Rose demands. 

Shifting minutely, I become aware of the Doctor’s hand resting along my forehead next to my hairline. 

“Rose.” The Doctor’s voice is low. I don’t even have to open my eyes to know that he isn’t pleased at the moment. It’s coming off of him in waves. 

Rose huffs, still upset. “No. This is the kind of thing you tell a person.” She hesitates. “I thought you said you were the last?”

Wait. What are they talking about? 

The Doctor shifts, hand stroking along my hairline. “I thought I was too.”

I pry my eyes open, bringing my hand up to wipe at the sleep that’s built up in the corner of them. The Doctor makes a noise, a cross between a chirp and a shush, and gently grabs my forearm, halting its progress. Not entirely awake yet, I hum at him in confusion. He moves my hand into my view of vision. Ohh, right. Bad hand. That would have hurt. 

Rose clears her throat, startling me. I had forgotten she was there. I’m not normally this unaware of my surroundings. Whatever that was in the pills the Doctor gave me earlier must have been strong. 

I use my left hand to push myself back into a sitting position. It seems that I had slid down from the Doctor’s shoulder to his lap in my sleep. How embarrassing. 

“Hello Rose.” I say to her, waving a little weakly. The look on her face is familiar to me, and I remember how protective she can be of the Doctor’s time when it comes to other people. My attention is drawn to her outfit. There’s only one episode that I can remember her wearing those black tights and short denim skirt paired with that scarf like she is today. Looking up at the Doctor, I smile. “Jack’s here too.”

He arches an eyebrow at me. I knew he hadn’t fully believed me about the fact that this was a tv show, and I seem to have thrown him with the fact I knew who his companions are. My attention wanders to the flashing medical equipment on the other side of the room.

Tugging on the Doctor’s jacket to get his attention, I mumble. “What have you given me?” It’s hard to talk. My lips feel thick and heavy. I want nothing more than to go back to sleep.

He places a hand on my back, steadying me as I sway back and forth. I hadn’t even realized I had been moving around. “General pain killer. I paired it with a pill that accelerates healing. It’s taxing on the body, why you want to sleep.” 

“Sleep.” I murmur, almost falling forward off the hospital bed. The Doctor oophs, lunging forward to catch me. 

“Alright, bed time for you.” He tells me. His tone cools as he turns to Rose. “I’ll speak to you about this later.”

The Doctor leans down, sweeping my legs up and swinging me into his arms. I hum in response. The next thing I’m aware of is being placed gently on a bed. 

I groan. The Doctor soothes my hair back from my face. His mouth opens and the most beautiful sounding language that I’ve ever heard comes forth. I can’t grasp words per se, but I’m able to understand the broad overview of what he’s trying to tell me. Safety. Sleep. 

My breathing evens out, and I fall into what might be the most restful sleep of my life. 

~

Hours later, far past what I would have normally slept, I’m awoken by the violent shaking of the Tardis. I have just enough time to register the fact that I’m in a bed before the shaking grows violent enough to throw me out of it. 

The Tardis groans around me. Cursing, and cradling my hand, I stumble my way to my feet. Taking off in one direction, I hope I’m going in the right direction. If Rose’s outfit earlier was an accurate indication, then I knew exactly what was happening. 

Either I had chosen properly, or the Tardis had helped me out even while she was in pain, but I make it to the console room in less than a minute. 

Jack is there, frantically trying to unhook the extrapolator from the Tardis. “It won’t work!” I yell over to him. 

Jack looks up, startled. “What do you mean it won’t work?”

I do my best to get to where he is. The extrapolator sparks causing the both of us to curse. “Disconnecting the extrapolator! It did what it was programmed to do, now that it’s got ahold of the power source it won’t matter that you disconnect them. It’ll just keep feeding off of it!”

The Tardis doors open, the Doctor and Blon, whatever her name is, run inside. 

“What the hell are you doing?” The Doctor demands. 

“It just went crazy!” Jack responds. 

The Doctor runs up to the console, frantically pushing buttons. “It's the rift. Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's going to disappear!”

I take a step back to allow them more room at the console, I was more of a hinderance than a help where I had just been. 

Jack shakes his head. “It's the extrapolator. I've disconnected it but it's still feeding off the engine! It's using the Tardis. I can't stop it!”

“Never mind Cardiff, it's going to rip open the planet.” The Doctor mutters. 

Rose runs in through the open doors. “What is it? What's happening?”

“Oh, just little old me.” Blon says. I expect her to grab Rose like I saw happen in the show, but instead Blon grabs me around the neck instead. The grip forces me up onto my tip toes. “One wrong move and she snaps like a promise.” 

The Doctor comes out from behind the console. His face is frightening in its intensity. “I might've known.” 

“I've had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it.” Blon tells the Doctor as she forces us to take a few steps closer to the console. She jerks her head in Jack’s direction. “You, fly boy, put the extrapolator at my feet.”

Nobody moves. Blon tightens her grip around my neck causing me to let out a noise of discomfort. 

Jack looks over at the Doctor and the Doctor nods. Jack picks up the extrapolator and gently places it at her feet. “Thank you.” Blon tells him with a saccharine smile. 

“I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station.” Rose speaks from behind us. 

“Failing that, if I were to be arrested.” Blon starts, grabbing my hair with her other hand and rubbing our faces together. I shiver in disgust and the Doctor takes a step forward. “then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan B. To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found. I'm back on schedule, thanks to you.”

“The rift's going to convulse. You'll destroy the whole planet.” Jack accuses her. 

“And you with it!” Blon exclaims, stepping up onto the extrapolator. “While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back, boys. Surf's up.”

The Tardis groans again. The console right in front of Blon opening up and bathing us in light. I immediately look away. I know what happens to Blon and I have no desire for anything like that to happen to me too. 

The Doctor speaks. His voice is hypnotic. “Of course, opening the rift means you'll pull this ship apart.”

Blon scoffs. “So sue me.”

“It's not just any old power source. It's the Tardis. My Tardis. The best ship in the universe.” He continues. 

“It'll make wonderful scrap.” Blon responds. 

“What's that light?” Rose asks. 

I can almost imagine the expression on the Doctor’s face. His voice remains calm, but his eyes would be burning. “The heart of the Tardis. This ship's alive. You've opened its soul.”

Blon’s voice becomes dreamy. “It's so bright.”

“Look at it, Margaret.” The Doctor urges her.

“Beautiful.” She whispers. 

“Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light.” The Doctor continues, voice deceptively soft. 

The hold Blon has around my throat loosens. I jerk myself away, backing out of reaching distance. Massaging my throat, I close my eyes. I hear Blon thank the Doctor, then the sound of her bodysuit hitting the floor. 

“Don't look. Stay there. Close your eyes!” The Doctor warns us. There is the sound of buttons being pressed and levers being pulled. The sound of the Tardis dims. It’s still there, just farther away. “Now, Jack, come on, shut it all down. Shut down! Rose, that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right”

The shaking, which I had become used to at this point, stops. 

I open my eyes just in time to see the Doctor smile at everyone. “Nicely done. Thank you all.”

“What happened to Margaret?” Rose asks.

Jack shrugs. “Must've got burnt up. Carried out her own death sentence.”

The Doctor shakes his head. “No, I don't think she's dead.”

Rose gives him a weird look. “Then where'd she go?”

“She looked into the heart of the Tardis. Even I don't know how strong that is.” The Doctor looks at Rose. “And the ship's telepathic, like I told you, Rose. Gets inside your head. Translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts.”

I walk over, kneeling next to the bodysuit. Reaching in, I pull out a large green egg with what looks to be dreadlocks on the top. 

The Doctor walks over and puts a hand on my shoulder. “There she is.”

Rose sounds shocked. “She's an egg?”

I look up at her. “Regressed to her childhood.”

“She's an egg?” Jack asks. 

“She can start again. Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell them to bring her up properly, she might be all right!” The Doctor sounds hopeful. 

Jack looks over at him skeptically. “Or she might be worse.”

The Doctor looks back over at him. “That's her choice.”

A sharp spike of pain travels through my head. My voice is still thick with it as I groan. “Can we not do the egg bit again please.”

“Oh, my God. Mickey.” Rose realizes, rushing back out of the Tardis. 

The Doctor kneels beside me. He reaches out, both of his hands cradling my head. “What’s wrong?”

I lean into the comfort his hands are offering. “Hurts.” 

He leans in, tilting my head up and looking into my eyes. It feels as though he’s peering inside of me. The Doctor hums and the pain in my head recedes a small bit. “Just a bit of overload. Nothing a good nap won’t cure.” 

I grimace. “I just woke up from getting more sleep than I normally get in two days and you’re telling me I need more?”

The Doctor laughs at me. “Yep!”

“Doctor, I’m not really tired.” If I go back to my room I’m probably going to end up staring at ceiling.

He pulls back, sitting on his heels, contemplating me. 

I offer a compromise. “How about food? And then if I feel tired after I’ll go lay down.”

The Doctor tilts his head to the side. “Fair enough.” He gestures for me to get up. “Head down the corridor, go past the helter skelter, 2nd left, 5th right and you’ll hit the kitchen.” 

I nod, getting to my feet and heading down the corridor. The Doctor isn’t quite as subtle as he thinks he is. I know when an adult is trying to get me out of the room for something. 

Though he may just be worried about Rose. If I remember correctly, she had gone out to find Micky but was unable to find him. Mickey had seen her from a distance but hadn’t shown himself. 

The thought sends another bolt of pain shooting across my skull. Ugh. I need something sugary. Sugar always seems to help when I get a migraine. 

Looking up at the ceiling, I address the Tardis. “I’m fairly certain you helped me earlier, thank you for that by the way, any chance of a little help here?”

The Tardis chimes. The base board near the floor lights up, making a path for me to follow. “So cool.” I murmur, following the lights. 

Three turns, and a small detour to the bathroom later, I finally open the door to the kitchen. The Doctor seems to have beaten me here. He turns to me as I open the door, raising his eyebrow. “Got lost?”

I smile at him wryly. “More like I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going in the first place.” Trailing my fingers along the doorway, I send the Tardis my thanks for guiding me. “Also I have no idea what a helter skelter is.”

“It’s a type of slide that’s built into a spiral around a high tower.” The Doctor states. Which is slightly concerning because I don’t remember seeing any slides at all. He points at a steaming cup sitting on the table. “That should help the headache.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?” I ask him. He seems to be cooking something on the stove top behind him. I’m not sure if it’s for me, but It’ll make me uncomfortable if he’s cooking for me and I don’t do anything in return. 

The Doctor looks over his shoulder, studying me. He nods to a cupboard. “You can grab plates and utensils.” 

I do that, setting the table and then taking a seat in front of the cup full of liquid. Upon closer inspection, the liquid seems to be tea. I bring the cup up and inhale. It doesn’t smell bad, just like tea leaves and lemon. A small sip confirms what my nose told me. Lemon, with a hint of sweetness. 

Almost before the liquid hits my stomach my headache recedes. I sigh in relief. “This tea is a miracle.” I tell the Doctor. 

He hums, and I look up to find him far closer than before. The Doctor transfers the food from the pan he is holding to the two plates on the table. It looks kinda like thick porridge? He returns the pan to the stove, then walks back to the table and sits down opposite of me. 

The Doctor slides the plate that has the most food on it in my direction. I murmur a thank you and pick up a forkful of the thick porridge, sticking it into my mouth. My face immediately goes bewildered. I roll the not porridge around my mouth. It’s simultaneously chewy, and gooey at the same time. It also tastes as though a breadth of spices have been folded into the mixture. 

I swallow, looking down at the rest of the not porridge and contemplating. Once I got over the fact that it was definitely not porridge, it was actually really nice. I pick up a larger forkful, but this time I take my time to savor the taste. I can’t tell exactly what’s inside. There are probably spices I’ve never had before in it. 

The Doctor’s seat creaks as he shifts his weight, bringing my awareness back to him. He’s staring at me again. I flush in embarrassment. 

“Do you like it?” He asks me. 

I perk up a bit. “Yes!” 

The Doctor rests his chin on his hand. “It’s an old recipe. We called it Σπιχεδ βρεαδ.” 

“Σπιχεδ βρεαδ?” My mouth stumbles over the pronunciation. The Doctor corrects me twice, but nods the third time I repeat it. “It’s delicious! I thought it looked like porridge at first, so I was a bit confused when I took the first bite. But it’s really delicious. Each time I take another bite it’s like I can’t decide which spice to focus on.” I babble on, and the Doctor watches me, a soft look on his face. 

The Doctor’s been sending me looks like that ever since he grabbed my hands in the first place. They are kind of unsettling. I mean, he’s looking at me like you would look at someone just preformed a magic trick, or maybe a miracle. Disbelief. Awe. Falling silent, I finish my meal. I make sure to scrape my plate clean.

The Doctor scoots his half full plate in my direction. “Here” 

I hesitate. “You sure?” 

“The accelerated rate of healing is burning through your body’s resources.” He tells me. “You need as many calories as you can stand right now.”

“I am still hungry.” I admit. “But I don’t want to take your food. I’m sure the Tardis has something else in her cupboards I can eat.”

The Doctor sighs, exasperated. “I ate all I needed to. I’m not hungry anymore.” 

Well in that case. “Thanks.” I mumble, taking his plate. It doesn’t take me long to finish his plate either. 

The Doctor grabs both the plates when I’m finished and places them in the sink. “Tired yet?” He asks. 

“Getting there.” I say with a yawn. The table doesn’t look like a bad place to set my head down. 

He walks over and stops by my chair. “Not the table.” The Doctor tells me, tugging on my arm to get me to stand up. 

I grumble, but let him pull me up. “Y’know, one day I really need to pay attention when I’m walking through these hallways. Cause I’m still lost.” I admit to him as we walk down the corridor. 

The Doctor laughs. He leans closer and shares a conspiratorial grin with me. “It took me years to figure out her patterns. And she still switches things up every now and again to mess with me.” 

I tilt my head back in amusement, laughing. The Doctor looks pleased. 

He leads me up to a wooden door. It has Gallifreyan symbols on it. I trace the symbols with my fingers, looking back at the Doctor with confusion. “This is my room?”

“Yeah.” The Doctor confirms. “Did you like the ceiling?” 

“The ceiling?” I ask. “The Tardis was shaking so much I didn’t really get a chance to look around earlier. I just wanted to get to the console room as fast as possible.”

His lips slowly tip up into a smile. I raise an eyebrow at him, but he just shoos me in the direction of the door. The door opens easily, almost as if the Tardis is also eager for me to see what she’s put together for me. 

I step through the doorway and am immediately blown away. The whole ceiling is made of some kind of clear material. Right now it’s showing the expanse of space. Galaxies, suns, stars. A sharp, happy, noise leaves my chest. “This is so cool.” I whisper. 

The lights in the room flicker, the Tardis burbling happily. 

I turn around, about to say goodnight to the Doctor but the look on his face stops me. 

It’s that same look that he’s been giving me since he grabbed my wrists. Disbelief, awe and a desperate sort of hope. I sigh, sitting down on the bed. “Okay, what’s up with the looks?” 

The Doctor raises his eyebrows. “What looks?”

“The look like the one you were just giving me. You’ve been looking at me like that ever since you grabbed my wrists in the first place.” I hesitate. “Like you desperately want me to be real.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” He denies, looking around the room. 

I flop back on the bed, unsurprised by the answer. The Doctor never did like to answer questions about his feelings no matter what regeneration he was on. 

The Doctor clears his throat to get my attention. “I’ll let you sleep.”. 

I take pity on him. “Thank you Doctor, for the food and the hospitality.” 

He nods, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. 

Letting out a deep breath, I stare up at the night sky through my ceiling. This whole situation was insane. I what? I tripped my way into the Doctor Who universe? And I had the Doctor looking at me like I was a miracle. I’m not stupid. I knew it all started when he took the readings. He was making it seem like I was...even in my own head I refused to complete that idea. 

This was beginning to seem like the start to a bad fanfiction. 

The Tardis lowered the lights in my room, a very not subtle hint that I was supposed to be sleeping and not contemplating life. 

“Alright, alright.” I murmur, pulling the comforter over me. “I get the hint.”


	2. And a step to the right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, an update!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> -RainingCoffee

I became aware of many things at once. One, this was not my bed. Two, I had slept for far to long and my body hated me for it. And three, I desperately had to use the bathroom. 

First thing was first. I shift minutely, feeling around the expanse of the bed. The good news was that there didn’t seem to be anyone else in the bed with me. This wasn’t the first time I had woken up in a strange bed and well, it was never a good thing when you woke up next to someone else in a bed you didn’t remember going to sleep in. 

I open my eyes next, sitting up and taking in the room. The room the Doctor had given me in the Tardis greets me in return. Oh. It hadn’t been a dream! 

This was real. This was really real. The Tardis chimes, confirming my thoughts. 

Giddy, I flop back onto the bed and beam up at the ceiling. 

A knock coming from my door startles me. Throwing the comforter off, I go over to the door and open it up. 

Captain Jack Harness stands on the other side of it. “Yes, hello?” I say to him, a smile coming to my face. 

“You’re awake. Good!” Jack responds. He looks around the corridor then leans in, lowering his voice. “Between you and me, I’m glad you’re up. The Doctor is getting testier by the hour.”

Bewildered, I stare up at Jack. “I don’t understand what that has to do with me being asleep.”

He shrugs. “Let’s just say there is a correlation.” Jack smirks down at me suddenly. “By the way, we never got a chance to introduce ourselves earlier. I’m Jack Harness.” 

“And I’m Willa.” I tell him, taking the offered hand and shaking it. “Though I think we both knew each other’s name before introductions.”

“You could be right.” Jack admits. “Are you going to come and put the Doctor out of his misery?”

“Give me five minutes. I need to use the bathroom and find a hairbrush.” I bargain. 

Jack nods. “Deal, I’ll let them know then.” He then turns around and heads down the corridor, presumably to go find Rose and the Doctor. 

I look up at the ceiling. “Okay, old girl, any hint about where the bathroom would be?” A door that I hadn’t noticed on the other side of the bedroom opens. “Thanks!”

Inside is a full bathroom. I head over to the sink, pleased to find a toothbrush that’s still in it’s packaging in the cupboard underneath it. There is also a hairbrush that I commandeer for my own use. 

Several minutes later, feeling refreshed and minty, I start heading down the corridor I saw Jack go down earlier. It doesn’t take long before I hear voices in the distance indicating that I’m on the right track. 

The closer I get to the voices, the slower my footsteps get. The giddiness I felt when I woke up was fast fading and I was coming back down to reality. The Doctor Who universe never stayed safe and happy for very long. There were a lot of people that die. I knew myself to well to know that I’d never again let someone die if there was something I could do to prevent it. 

I open the door to the kitchen, and the noise comes to a halt. Rose and the Doctor are over by the stove. Rose was in the process of smiling up at the Doctor, but as Jack said earlier the Doctor didn’t look very happy. Jack is sitting down at the table taking a sip from a mug. 

“Willa!” The Doctor’s face lights up. He pads over to me, placing a hand on my arm. “I was wondering when you’d wake up.” 

“Yeah.” I smile wryly. “I must have been more tired than I thought.” 

He studies me, scanning over my face. “Sleep is good. Sleep means you’re healing. And healing means you need to eat.”

“Careful Doctor.” I tease him. “You keep feeding me like this and you’ll have to roll me to places.” Of course, this is the point where my stomach decides to growl and show how angry it is at being empty. 

The Doctor laughs at me, tapping me on the nose. “Until then, it seems your body agrees with me.”

My face heats with embarrassment. A look around the Doctor’s shoulder shows Rose scowling at whatever is cooking on the stove as she stirs it. “Do you want me to set the table again?” I’m not going to let anyone say I don’t earn my own share. 

The Doctor ruffles my hair. “Good idea.” He walks back over to Rose and takes over, stirring whatever is in the pan. 

I smile at Rose as I pass her on my way to the cabinet that houses the plates. Her lips twitch like she wants to smile back, but she tenaciously holds onto the scowl. That’s okay, I’m patient. I’ll wear her down soon. 

Grabbing enough plates and silver wear for everyone, I set the table. After being shooed away from the stovetop by the Doctor, I proceed to stare awkwardly at Jack from across the table. 

Jack clears his throat. “So how did you end up here. The Doctor was kind of loose on the details.” 

Thankful, I immediately latch onto the conversation. Anything other than awkward staring. “I’m kind of loose on them myself. It was supposed to be one of the last nice days of the season, so I decided to take my dog for a walk in the park. The next thing I know I’m stepping through a patch of grass like it isn’t actually there and I find myself here.” 

The Doctor hums from behind me, I hadn’t realized that he had moved over from the stove. “Sounds like dimensional shifting, or a parallel universe. You must have found a weak spot and fallen through.” I look over my shoulder and find him frowning, deep in thought. “The kind of power traveling through the void would take is far too high though. Travel like that isn’t possible anymore.”

I shrug. “I honestly have no idea. But now I’m here.” 

He shakes his head, smile coming to his face as he focuses on me. “For now, it’s nothing to worry about.” 

The rest of the meal passes quickly. Eggs, bacon and biscuits today, it’s simple but delicious. As usual, my plate is completely clean by the end of the meal. The Doctor pushes more food in my direction, but I wave him off. That was more than enough food, especially after how much I ate last night as well. 

The Doctor, Rose and Jack start up a conversation about a planet called Trefenoi. Lush scenery, but volatile local life. I enjoy listening to how excited they are as they talk about it. I can see just why Jack and Rose fit in with the Doctor so well. 

The conversation comes to a close and the Doctor leans back in his chair, turning his attention to me. “Are you ready?” 

Huh. “Ready for what?”

“I wanna run some more tests, make sure your hand is healing well.” He elaborates. 

“Then yeah, I guess I’m ready.” Not like it would benefit me to say no. 

We both get up, and the Doctor leads us back to the med room. This time he has me lay down on the med table. As I do so, a transparent green bubble forms over the table. “Uhh, Doctor?”

“Don’t worry.” The Doctor tells me, sending me a smile. “It’s supposed to do that.” 

“It didn’t do that yesterday.” I grumble. Not going to lie, all of this is starting to really freak me out. He used that handheld device on me last time. Why couldn’t he use it this time?

The Doctor presses something on the side of the table, and several Gallifreyan circles appear. They spin and whirl around as my stats change. He studies the circles for a moment, before turning concerned eyes to me. His hand reaches through the barrier to rest on my arm. “It’s just a routine check up, nothing to worry about.” 

My mouth twists up into a crooked smile. “Sorry. This wasn’t what you did yesterday and it’s kind of throwing me off.”

He hums, patting my arm again before pulling back. 

The scan takes far longer than it did yesterday. I’m not stupid, I know he’s not doing it just to check on my wrist. 

The green bubble fizzes out. I gratefully sit up, but the Doctor stays hunched over a panel near the side of the room. 

I slide off the bed and walk over to him, placing a hand on his back hesitantly. “Doctor?” 

The Doctor lets out a shaky breath, straightening up and beaming at me. “Your wrist is healing at a good speed. Should only need to keep the cast on for a couple more days.” 

“That’s good.” I reply, tilting my head to the side. There’s something not right here. “Are you sure that you’re okay?” 

“Course I’m okay.” He responds, rolling his eyes at me. 

I frown at him. His expression seems genuine. There isn’t any of the fake cheer I’ve seen him use on the show in his demeanor. Just..there was something in my gut that told me the Doctor was very much not okay right now. For a second, I had a thought about confronting him about it, but that quickly fizzed out. He just met me yesterday. If he was going to open up to anyone, it would most probably be someone he knew better.

I pull my hand back, my frown turning into a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I could have sworn..well anyways, never mind.” 

The Doctor reaches out and ruffles my hair. “One more thing. I want to do a blood test too.” 

“What for?” I ask, bewildered. 

“Hmm?” The Doctor responds, distracted as he prepares a vial and needle. “Just want to get a baseline.” He reassures me. 

Whatever. It’s not like I didn’t know he wasn’t really doing this to check on my wrist anyways. I don’t argue, gritting my teeth against the pain of the needle piercing my skin. The Doctor draws two more vials before sending me off claiming he has some work to do. 

I rub at my arm as I walk down the hallway, grumpy. I hate needles, they bring up all sorts of things I don’t want to remember. 

The Tardis warbles, baseboard lighting up and heading down the hallway. Trying to distract me, huh? That’s a distraction I will gladly accept. 

The lights lead me to a gorgeous library. The stacks stretch on past where the eye can see. There are a couple of comfy looking chairs and a couch next to a merrily crackling fire. The only thing that would make this better would be a huge mug of hot chocolate and a blanket. 

I spend a little over an hour just perusing the shelves. There were so many different books I was honestly at a loss of where to start. For comforts sake, I decided on a copy of the Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. It was always a favorite of mine as a child. 

I make my way back towards the armchairs I remembered seeing when I first came in. The Tardis must have anticipated me, because there was a big fluffy blanket and a cup of steaming hot chocolate waiting for me as I rounded the corner. 

“Thanks dear.” I whisper, hand sliding along the back of the armchair. The lights dim a bit in response. 

Curling up in the armchair, I pull the blanket over me and get comfortable. The hot chocolate is perfect, not that I doubted it would be. All in all, it was the perfect set up for someone like me. 

By the time I finished re-reading the book my frazzled nerves were calm and I was feeling much more relaxed. In fact, I almost wanted to sleep again. I knew I would never be able to do so, however, I had gotten way to much sleep the previous night. 

Instead, I curl deeper into the armchair and just kind of drift. I wasn’t asleep, but I wasn’t quite fully aware of what was going on either. I let my thoughts flow like the flames in the fire. 

“So I see you’ve found the library.” The Doctor’s voice comes from behind me. 

I arch my head back, seeing him looking at me from over the top of the armchair. “Yes. It’s gorgeous.” 

The Doctor comes around, sitting down on the couch that’s beside my chair. He looks strange. Almost giddy. There’s an aura of manic energy around him. Even as he’s sitting, his leg is bouncing up and down. 

“What’s going on?” I ask him. 

“Nothing.” He responds, looking over at the fire. 

I narrow my eyes in response. “You’re…vibrating.” 

The Doctor laughs, looking down at his knee. “I suppose I am.” 

Sitting up, I make sure the fluffy blanket is still wrapped around me. I have a feeling I’m going to need it for this conversation. 

“I examined the information I was able to get from the scans I took from you earlier.” The Doctor starts. “Skipping over how improbable it is, you do have traces of void energy, showing that you have travelled between universes.”

Sending a pointed look my way, the Doctor continues. “It also explains why you’ve been sleeping so much, travelling without any protection through the void is taxing, even on an adult body and you’re still just a child.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” I argue, faint memories coming to the fore. “I remember on the show that someone travelled through the void and they were only a couple years older than me. They didn’t crash like I did.”

The Doctor shrugs in response. “That’s also another thing we need to talk about. You cannot under any circumstances tell anyone about what you saw on the show. I’m going to assume that it was much farther along in my personal timeline?”

I had been in the middle of opening my mouth to respond, but the last sentence causes me to snap it shut. “That’s what I thought.” He murmurs. “How far along did the show go?” 

“You know I can’t tell you that.” And I wouldn’t even if I could, nobody should know how far their future unfolds. “And I don’t think that we will have to worry about that for much longer anyways. I’ve already noticed that my memories of it are getting fuzzy. I’m slowly losing details.”

“Good. That’s probably for the best.” The Doctor nods. He leans back, eyeing me with curiosity. “How much of my life did this show actually go over?”

“You just got done telling me I couldn’t tell anyone anything about it, and now you’re asking questions?” I tease. 

The Doctor laughs. “Well you can’t blame a guy for trying. But I was mostly talking about future knowledge.”

I hum, think about what I can tell him. “Well the show has been running for about 55 years now. It mostly showed the adventures, not the downtime in between so there was really not any concrete way of telling how much time was skipped.”

Shifting on the couch, I bring my cocoa up for a sip. “Most people classify it between Classic who and New who.”

“Classic who and new who?” The Doctor asks, nose furrowing. 

“Yeah. The show would go through periods of popularity and decline. It would get canceled and then re-green lighted. It eventually died out in the late 1990’s but was rebooted in 2005. Classic who encompasses all the episodes between 1963 leading all the way up to the movie in 1996. That covers 26 seasons and 8 regenerations.” I explain. The Doctor is looking a little bewildered. 

“Twenty six seasons?” He blurts out. “Twenty six seasons, a movie. Covering 8 regenerations.”

“Yep.” I pop my p, enjoying his confusion. “I have to admit, I didn’t watch a whole bunch of the older episodes. They were shown less frequently and many of them had disappeared or gotten destroyed. I mostly watched New who.”

The Doctor suddenly goes rigid, hands clamping down on his knees. “Don’t worry Doctor.” I murmur, reaching over and laying a hand on top of his. “They didn’t show what you are thinking about.”

He takes a deep, measured breath, blowing it out slowly. “Sorry, it’s just-“ He lets the sentence hang.

“I know.” I squeeze his hand, then let go. “So! Ready for the explanation on New who?” 

“Yeah.” The Doctor sends a grateful look in my direction for the distraction. 

I clear my throat, dressing it up a bit. “Well New who kicks off in 2005. So far it has 11 seasons, twelve Christmas specials, a fiftieth anniversary special, countless mini-sodes. And it seems to only be growing in popularity. New who also introduces you.” I throw my hands out towards him and shake them around. “Tada!”

“Me huh.” The Doctor starts to smile. “It kicks of with this me.” 

“Yep. So if you really think about it, all the popularity New who gained really started with you.” I tell him. 

He leans back, tapping a finger against his mouth. “And people just watch my life. That is bizarre.” 

“I mean, you have to admit that a lot of your adventures are really cool.” He does a so-so motion. “They are!”

The Doctor smiles at me, his eyes crinkling at the force of his amusement. “Do the episodes follow just me?” 

I shake my head. “Nah, most of the time you have companions that travel with you. That’s how I knew Jack was going to be with you, I recognized the outfit that Rose was wearing when we were in the med room.” My lips tip up into a mischievous smile. “Of course Jack is a fan favorite. He’s so popular he even gets his own spin-off series.”

“Really?” The Doctor sounds disappointed in mankind. 

“Oh yes.” I bring a hand up to muffle my giggles. “It is immortalized now, as well as all the unfortunate fashion choices that you made during your lives.”

His lips twitch in amusement, even as he tries to pretend otherwise. “I’ll have you know, I am the pinnacle of human fashion no matter where I go.” 

“Ah yes, rainbow coats and decorative vegetables, the pinnacle of human fashion indeed.” I murmur. 

“They even have that?” The Doctor throws his head back and laughs. Genuine amusement fills his expression. I hide a smile under the edge of the blanket. Mission – make the Doctor think about something other than the war for at least two seconds – accomplished. 

His warm gaze focuses back on me. “How did you get into watching the show anyways?”

I keep my smile fixed, shrugging. “Oh you know, it was on the tv and I caught an episode here and there. Liked what I saw, so I ended up watching more.” 

“Did you watch Jack’s spin off show too?” The Doctor asks me. He’s studying me again, I must not have kept my smile as fixed as I hope. 

“Of course.” I immediately respond. “Though, because it was Jack it ended up being far more sexual than was necessary.”

He looks as though he’s imagining it, before a look of regret drifts over his face. Yeah, bad move there Doctor. “There were a couple other spin offs but I didn’t ever end up checking them out.”

“Who all else gets spin offs?” The Doctor jumps on it immediately, anything to get the image of Jack having sex out of his head. 

I open my mouth to tell him about Sarah Jane but my train of thought immediately gets de-railed. “It’s-“ Shaking my head side to side, I frown. “I just had it on the tip of my tongue, but it’s like the thought floated away.”

The Doctor leans forward, placing his hands on his knees. “Interesting, that must be part of my future somehow. That’s why you can’t retain it when trying to tell someone.” 

Disoriented, I lean back in the armchair. That was a very strange feeling, and one I hope to not repeat anytime soon. “I’m going to end up forgetting everything, right when it’s most important aren’t I?” 

“Yours is a special case. Most people aren’t in a position to influence events like you are.” The Doctor murmurs. There is compassion in his eyes that I have to look away from. “It’s better that you forget.”

I disagree, but there’s really no good way to say that. Reaching out, the Doctor picks up the book I had been reading from the table. “Goose girl?” He asks, brows furrowing in confusion. 

“Yeah.” I respond, still distracted by the fact I wasn’t going to be able to knowingly change anything. “It’s one of my favorite books.”

“Ever?” The Doctor says skeptically, looking down at the book in doubt. “Of all the books you’ve ever read, you picked one called Goose Girl as your favorite?”

“Oi!” I focus my attention back on the Doctor. “Unless you’ve read that book before, I don’t want to hear you diss it! It’s fabulous.” 

There’s a hint of a smile in his eyes as he scoffs. “Oh really, what’s it about then?”

Outraged, and determined to win him over, I lean forward in my seat. “It’s a story about sacrifice, love and choice. It’s a story about bravery, and the many forms it takes.”

The Doctor hums. “Nah, still not convinced.” 

I narrow my eyes at him, he sticks his tongue out back at me. “Fine!” Getting out of the armchair, I lug my comforter and pillows over to the couch next to the Doctor. “We are going to read this together, and if you still don’t like it, then you can talk shit.” Pausing in the middle of getting my blanket just perfect, I hesitantly look up at him. “Unless you have other things you want to go do right now.” 

Shifting, the Doctor leans farther back into the couch. “Got nothing better to do, might as well.” He flicks the book open, positioning it so that I can see the writing as well. “She was born Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, and she did not open her eyes for three days.” 

And so it goes. It doesn’t take the Doctor long to get into the story, you can tell by the way his breathing speeds up during the action, or how it trembles whenever something is sad. Halfway though, I pull my feet up onto the couch and get comfortable, laying my head down on my nest of pillows. The Doctor pauses, hand brushing down my hair. “You tired?” 

“No.” I deny, and I’m not. “I just wanted to get comfortable. And you do the voices really well, I don’t have to see the book to be in the story.” 

He hums, leaving his hand where it is and returning to the story. It doesn’t take much longer, just a little over an hour. The Doctor finishes up, closing the book and sitting back with a satisfied sigh.

“See.” I murmur. “I told you you’d like the book.” 

“You did.” The Doctor responds. “And I did, it was much better than the title suggests.” 

I roll my eyes. Why can’t he just admit that he liked it without posturing? “Anyways, thanks.” 

“For what?” The Doctor asks. I sit up, dislodging the hand. It kind of hovers for a second before the Doctor returns it to his knee.

“For reading.” I reply. For being kind and hanging out with me, I leave unsaid. He could have very easily just left me here and gone on an adventure with Jack and Rose or tinkered with the Tardis. The fact that I was able to share my favorite book with the Doctor, someone who I’ve looked up to for a while, is amazing to me. 

He makes a noise like he doesn’t believe me, but doesn’t push. Instead, the Doctor starts to talk. He talks about some of his older adventures, fights against werewolves and old gods. I’ve seen some of the episodes he’s talked about, but some of them I haven’t. 

Either way, hearing him re-tell the stories are still fascinating. “No! That’s ridiculous!” I exclaim, collapsing back into the couch, overcome by laughter.

“I’m serious!” The Doctor insists, huge smile on his own face. “It was a creature made entirely of candy. Liquorice, sherbet, even marzipan.” His eyes go unfocused and he laughs. “I’m fairly certain we were able to stick him to the ground with lemonade.”

“That’s so cool.” I murmur, absent mindedly fidgeting with the cast on my hand. 

The Doctor makes that same noise as earlier, the bad/stop/no noise, and I immediately stop my fidgeting. “Let it heal properly.” He says, exasperated. 

I raise the hand that’s not in the cast and make a show of placing it down in my blanket nest, far away from the other one. Instead of being angry with my sass, I get the feeling that the Doctor is rather amused by it. 

Huh.

xxxx

Weeks pass. We don’t go on any adventures, which I’m vaguely grateful for. Something about the thought of heading out on an adventure with Rose and Jack fills me with worry and the annoying sense that I’m missing something. 

I spend my days doing a mixture of exploring the Tardis and following the Doctor around like a puppy. It was getting me increasingly dirty looks from Rose, but it’s not like it was unwelcome. The Doctor was the one who came and got me most of the time. 

There was a book he recently found and he thought I’d like it, why don’t I come to the library and he would read it like he did with the Goose Girl. He had to do some routine maintenance on the Tardis, I could come and keep him company while he did it. 

Honestly, I didn’t mind. Once it became clear that I wasn’t overstaying my welcome, and that he genuinely enjoyed my presence, I started to search him out too. I found a really cool room that had a life sized bouncy castle? Gotta show the Doctor. That day we ended up grabbing Jack and Rose and having a blast. Rose even forgot herself and smiled at me. 

Speaking of Rose, I hadn’t made a whole lot of progress with her. She was never overtly hostile, but she wasn’t cheery with me either. 

Jack on the other hand, became a good source of entertainment and friendship. He was always willing to share a funny story, or a midnight snack, if I happened to catch him at the right time. 

I still had insomnia, but it wasn’t so bad now. If I didn’t feel like laying in my room staring at the ceiling, or reading in the library, there would be someone around to distract me. 

It was..nice. To be part of the group.


	3. Cha Cha real smooth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I got such a good response to the last chapter that it motivated me. So here's another chapter! 
> 
> This chapter is jam packed and has a lot of furthering the plot. 
> 
> I'm not going to spoil it here, but in the author's note in the end I explain a little about my reasoning for doing what I've done in this chapter. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> ~RainingCoffee
> 
> PS. I only know what I know of Countdown from what I goggled. Plus it's however many years in the future, any discrepancies can be explained by that, right?

“Hand me that juren laser, would ya?” The Doctor says, hand appearing out of the grating. 

I study the tools by my side. “The juren laser is the one that looks like a starfish on the end right?” A faint affirmative reaches my ears. I pick it up and gingerly place it in the Doctor’s hands, making sure nothing sharp bites into anything sensitive. Which is harder than it sounds, the whole tool basically looks like a torture device. 

There’s a burst of light from under the console, then a noise like all the air getting sucked out of somewhere. I peer into the grating while blinking spots out of my eyes. The Doctor pops up, beaming smile and googles firmly in place. “There, that should do it.”

“And what was it that we were doing exactly?” I ask, biting back a smile at his appearance. There’s a large streak of black across his forehead. 

“Re-calibrating the cold fusion connecters.” He explains, lifting the googles up and accidently smearing the grease farther across his forehead. 

My lips twitch involuntarily. It’s taking everything in me not to bust a gut. 

The Doctor pauses, tilting his head and studying me. “What?”

“Nothing.” I respond, innocently. 

He raises an eyebrow, eyes roving over my innocent expression. “Somehow I doubt that.”

I gesture for him to lean closer, reaching for the rag that’s to my right. The Doctor grumbles but allows me to wipe at his face. “You had grease all across your forehead.” I laugh, not able to keep it in anymore. 

The Doctor looks down at his hands, which are covered in grease, then turns his attention to me. 

“Don’t you dare.” I caution immediately, already putting my legs underneath me in preparation to bolt. 

The Doctor is too fast for me, however, and manages to swipe his fingers across my cheek. I pout at the half of his body I can see, crossing my arms. 

Unfortunately, it’s lost on him, seeing as he’s laughing too hard to notice my expression. 

“Hey Spitfire.” Jack calls out, startling both me and the Doctor. 

I place a hand to my chest, trying to force my heartrate back to normal. “Jesus Jack. You can’t sneak up on a girl like that.” 

Jack rolls his eyes. “I didn’t sneak, you were both too busy to hear me walk up. I was standing here for a minute.”

The Doctor takes the goggles off all the way, leveraging his way out of the grate. “What is it Jack?”

“I’ve been elected as spokesperson.” Jack says, smiling wryly. “It’s been a while since we’ve had an adventure and I don’t know about you, but I’m getting antsy. So is Rose.” 

“Well, I was giving Willa here a chance to get settled in before we went anywhere.” The Doctor’s eyes slide to me. “Are you up for it?”

A pang of anxiety rolls through me at the thought. I know it has something to do with the next adventure, but with my fading memories of the future episodes I have no idea why. So I smile and hide my discomfort. “Sure, why not?”

If I had known it was going to jumpstart everything, I would have said no. 

xxxx

I startle awake, disoriented and nauseous. Hands grab my arms and pull me into a standing position. “Wha-?”

“It’s okay, that was the transmat. Makes you all weird in the head at first.” A man tells me. It’s not someone I recognize. 

“I don’t understand, what’s going on?” I murmur, looking around. We aren’t in the Tardis anymore and that’s the last place I remember being. 

A woman smiles at me from her position in line. “You’ve been chosen for the games. Just like we all have.” 

I open my mouth to ask more questions but there’s a noise from the middle of the room and a person disintegrates right in front of my eyes. 

The man who first helped me up scoffs. “Must have had the farthest away score.” 

What? “Who the hell are you people and what the hell just happened?”

“My name is Anna.” The woman says, then gestures over to the man. “That there is Brian.”

“I told you, we’ve been chosen for the games.” Brian repeats, looking confused.

“I’m Willa.” I respond. “And I have no idea what you guys are talking about when you say games.” 

“That’s impossible, everyone knows about the games.” Anna tells me. 

Shrugging, I make sure to keep an eye on the contestants of this ‘game’. It’s looks as if every time someone is disintegrated they pull someone from the line to replace them. “Let’s just say I’m not from around here.” 

Brian shakes his head. “I’d say. Never heard of the games. Pah.” 

“What about you guys then? You obviously know about them, but I just watched a man get murdered. How can you watch something like that?” I demand, deeply disturbed. 

Anna frowns, looking upset herself. “It’s not like we have a choice.”

I keep my silence. All they are doing is painting a picture that I’m not really liking. For some reason I’m coming up blank on what episode this is supposed to be. It’s like my brain wants to connect the dots but there’s something blocking me from doing so. 

Being in line does allow me to observe the rules of the game. It seems to be a number game called Countdown. You were given a set of 6 numbers and had 30 seconds to combine them in any way shape or form to get the number they had on their board. You had to use all the numbers provided. 

More people get disintegrated, and so more people get pulled from the line. Until it’s time for me to be put in the game.

“So the numbers you are given today are 25, 50, 75, 100, 3, 6. You have to find a way to make those numbers get as close to 952 as possible. There are 30 seconds on the clock.” The show host tells us. “Good Luck.”

The clock starts counting down. My mind takes off, frantically ticking off the possibilities. I’ve seen what happened to the other contestants who failed. I have no desire to become vaporized like they were. 

What I needed to do was win the game and then somehow break out and find the Doctor. 

“Time’s up!” The show host calls out, unnatural joy in her voice. “Does anyone have 952?”

Brian is up first. He shakily breathes out. “I have 951.”

“I have 951 as well.” Anna answers, sure of her answer. 

And so it goes on down the line. There are a couple of 950’s, even a 954, but no 952’s. I was the newest contestant, and so I was called on last. “I have 952.” 

Instantly a hush falls over the room. Every contestant turns to look at me. Even the show host looks surprised. 

“Well then, can you walk us through the process?” She recovers, getting ready to write on the board in front of her. 

“First take the 100 and add 6 to it.” I say, watching her write the numbers as I say them. “Multiply that by three and then multiply that number by 75.”

The show host looks bewildered. “You want me to multiply 318 by 75?” 

“Yes.” I respond. The show host laughs, but does as I said. 

“I’m going to need a calculator for this one.” She teases, looking around for someone to hand her one. 

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “It would be 23,850.” 

The other contestants are starting to look worried now. By this point the show host has quieted down after receiving confirmation that 318 multiplied by 75 was indeed 23,850.

“Subtract 50 from the 23,850.” I say, ignoring the discontented murmuring starting up around me. “Now divide 23,800 by the 25.” 

I’ve used all the numbers, and if my math is correct, and it usually is, then the final number that should come out is 952.

“I can’t believe it.” The show host murmurs, after getting a calculator brought to her and verifying the answers. “Willa is correct.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Brian bursts out, looking frantic. “Maybe she’s an android or something. There’s no way she figured those numbers out on her own.”

The show host shakes her head. “You know that there is an extensive scan before the transmat drops you off. It wouldn’t have brought her here if she was enhanced.” She picks up the vaporization ray and calmly points it towards the woman who got 524. “You were the farthest away from the correct number. Thank you for playing and goodbye.” 

Before the show host gets a chance to pull the trigger and vaporize poor Sally, Brian leaps over the desk and tries to take it from her. 

The guards come running around the corner, and at the same time a door into the corridor opens up. Jack and the Doctor come running in, both of their faces lighting up as they see me. “Willa!” The Doctor cries. 

I’m so relieved I could cry. In the confusion caused by Brian, I’m able to make my way over to the Doctor and Jack, who quickly usher me out of the room. As soon as the door closes behind us, I throw my arms around the Doctor’s waist. 

“I’m so glad you guys are here.” I breathe out, relief coursing through me. 

The Doctor tightens his arms around me. He presses what feels like a kiss against my hair, breathing harsh. 

Jack’s voice comes from behind us, tone urgent. “Doctor we don’t have much time.” 

Cursing under his breath, the Doctor shakes his head. “I still don’t like it.”

“We need all the information we can get.” Jack insists.

Even though I don’t want to, I start to pull back. Jack is right. We don’t have a lot of time.

Sighing, the Doctor allows me to pull back from the hug, but he keeps his hands on my shoulders. Staring at me in the eyes, his voice takes on a hypnotic cadence. “Willa this is important. Is there anything, anything at all you can tell me about what’s going on?”

“I can’t remember.” I respond, caught up in his eyes. It’s as though he’s looking into the depths of me. “But I have the most awful feeling something bad is going to happen.”

“C’mon, use me as a conduit.” The Doctor demands, hands tightening on my shoulders. “I need to know.”

Use him as a conduit? I don’t understand what he’s talking about. The Doctor makes a frustrated noise, hands moving from my shoulders to the sides of my head. There’s a yanking sensation, then the peculiar feeling of my body falling away. 

The place I end up in is bare, and the only thing that is visible is fog. I simultaneously know nothing and everything in this strange in-between I’ve been put into. The Doctor had just yanked me out of my body because he knew I had access to future information. Future information that he had gone through painstaking effort to block off in the first place, but now he needed to know. I spare a moment to be sad. It wasn’t safe for me to be here and he knew it.

And then, well, I wasn’t able to think about that at all. Images rush past me. The gamestation, the games themselves. Rose being disintegrated by the Anne Droid. Rose not really being dead. The Daleks. Rose becoming Bad Wolf. Bad Wolf. Bad Wolf. 

I’m abruptly slammed back into my body. My mouth shuts with a click of my teeth, jaw sore from the wordless scream that my mouth had opened into. There is something hot and wet dripping from my nose. 

Raising my eyes to the Doctor, I’m taken aback at how devastated he looks. He reaches for me again, and I stumble back. “Willa. I-“

I cut him off. “I don’t-I don’t want to hear it right now.” Closing my eyes, I take a breath to settle myself. “I can’t tell you anything concrete, it becomes fixed that way, but I can give you abstract information.”

The Doctor swallows, expression evening out. “Yes, I’m aware.”

“To that effect, I’m only going to tell you two things.” I say, making my voice firm. Making it very clear that those are the only two things I’m going to tell him. “When the time comes, no matter how impossible it seems, the ray doesn’t actually kill people. Also, you’re about to meet an old enemy, and it’s going to break your heart.” 

“You can’t tell me anything else?” The Doctor asks. His voice is hoarse as he speaks. There is an air of sadness around him now. 

“Yes, I can. But I’m not going to.” I respond, raising my chin in defiance. 

The Doctor nods, accepting that. At least for now. Jack steps up from the peripheral of the room. He doesn’t look pleased. “We need to go get Rose now.” 

I gesture for them to go first, following behind. Finally allowing myself to swipe at the wetness under my nose, I’m not surprised when my hand comes back red. God Willa. You know better than this. People are selfish and self-serving. Why did you think these people would be any different?

Closing my eyes for a few brief seconds, I acknowledge the reason. These were people I looked up to, people I placed on a pedestal. It wasn’t their fault, it was mine. I had forgotten how the ninth Doctor got when it came to this kind of stuff. Once he gets it into his head that it is what has to be done, he does it. Even if it might hurt someone else. Heck, the whole first season was about him repenting for the war. It happened with Gwyneth, with the tree lady when the earth exploded, and countless others. Sometimes it saved lives and other times it didn’t. 

I just never thought that kind of intensity would focus itself on me, though I suppose it was naïve of me to think so. I guess it was that the Doctor had been so genuinely kind. Eager to listen and even more eager to teach. Jack had also been kind. I had thought we were actually getting on rather well. I had forgotten how fast the Doctor could shift moods, and the fact that a Jack this young would do anything for the Doctor’s approval. 

I had forgotten and once again I had been burned. 

Yeah, I wasn’t interested in being burned anymore. Hardening my heart, I pull my emotional barriers up like a shield against the world. I hadn’t been using it with these people. Guess I wanted to be genuine. Ha, I never learn. 

By the time we reached the floor Rose was on, which I only knew because Jack said something about it, the blood was wiped away from my face and my face was a blank mask.

“Remember.” I murmur as we reach the door to the game she’s in. “It’s not really death.”

The Doctor hums his understanding, working on the door to let us in the studio. 

“I could blast it open?” Jack offers, but the Doctor shakes his head. 

“You can't. it's made of Hydra combination.” He states. 

Jack makes a frustrated noise in response. 

“C’mon. C’mon. C’mon.” The Doctor mutters, frantically waving his screwdriver. Something clicks and the doors open. “Rose!”

“Doctor!” Rose’s voice comes from deep in the room. 

The Doctor, Jack and I all run into the room. “I order you to stop this game!” 

Rose hurries around the podium, running towards us. In that moment, the scared look on her face resonates with me. There is no way I can let her be taken the way I saw it happen in the show. My body moves with purpose. Rose might be running towards us, but I’m also running towards her. If I timed it right, and my math is always correct, I should make it to her just as the Anne Droid fires.

And I do. It only takes a little push to make Rose fall out of the line of fire, a line of fire that now extends to me. As the beam closes in on my position, I’m glad that I don’t have to see the look on the faces behind me. Rule 1, Willa style, nothing is ever set in stone. 

xxxx

The transmat is harsh, spitting me out onto the ground of the Dalek ship. Looking around, I’m not surprised to find several Daleks heading straight for me. “Hello Daleks.” I say, standing up and brushing the dust from my pants. “Can’t say I’m happy to see you here.”

“THE FEMALE HAS KNOWLEDGE OF THE DALEKS.” One Dalek states. 

Another Dalek starts to roll forward. “SHE IS AN ASSOCIATE OF THE DOCTOR.”

“Yes.” I say, tone mild. “And because it’s the Doctor, you know he’s going to find you.”

“WE HAVE YOU NOW. THE DOCTOR CARES FOR HIS ASSOCIATES. HE WILL COME FOR YOU AND THEN YOU WILL ALL BE EXTERMINATED.” The first Dalek that spoke, informs me. 

He won’t if he knows what’s good for him. But the Doctor never does what’s good for him, so I’ll probably be seeing him soon. With that in mind, I settle in to wait. It’s going to be a bit until the Doctor figures out what’s really going on. 

Around twenty minutes later a Dalek comes out of an adjoining room. “ALERT. ALERT. WE ARE DETECTED.” 

Another Dalek rolls back to look at the first. “IT IS THE DOCTOR. HE HAS LOCATED US. OPEN COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL.”

A Dalek points its eyestalk towards the ceiling and a holographic video feed blinks into view. “I WILL TALK TO THE DOCTOR.”

“Oh, will you?” The Doctor asks sarcastically, leaning back in his chair. “That's nice. Hello!”

“THE DALEK STRATAGEM NEARS COMPLETION. THE FLEET IS AMLOST READY. YOU WILL NOT INTERVENE.” The Dalek states. 

“Oh, really? Why's that, then?” The Doctor’s face is cold and hard. I can see Rose try to place on hand on his shoulder, but he brushes her off. 

A Dalek rolls up from behind me. ‘WE HAVE YOUR ASSOCIATE. YOU WILL OBEY OR SHE WILL BE EXTERMINATED.” 

There’s a second of pause, where the Doctor looks at his end of the view screen. “No.” Everyone on his side of the screen turns to look at him in disbelief. 

“EXPLAIN YOURSELF.” The Dalek that’s projecting the viewscreen states. 

“I said no.” The Doctor repeats. 

Several Daleks swing their eyestalks around to look at each other in confusion. “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS NEGATIVE.”

Narrowing his eyes, the Doctor stares into the view screen. “It means no.”

“BUT SHE WILL BE DESTROYED.” The Dalek repeats. 

“No!” The Doctor yells, jumping to his feet. “Because this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to rescue her. I'm going to save Willa from the middle of the Dalek fleet. And then I'm going to save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, I'm going to wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky!”

The Dalek beside me shifts. “BUT YOU HAVE NO WEAPONS, NO DEFENSES, NO PLAN.”

“Yeah. And doesn't that scare you to death.” The Doctor states, before shifting his eyes on the view screen until they almost perfectly line up with mine. It feels as though he’s looking right at me. “Willa?”

“Yes, Doctor.” I respond, tilting my head to the side. 

“I'm coming to get you.” He promises. Then he raises the sonic screwdriver and the screen blinks out. 

“THE DOCTOR IS INITIATING HOSTILE ACTION.” A Dalek states. 

Another Dalek shifts forward. “THE STRATAGEM MUST ADVANCE. BEGIN THE INVASION OF EARTH!” 

“THE DOCTOR WILL BE EXTERMINATED!” “EXTERMINATE!” “EXTERMINATE!” “EXTERMINATE!” Multiple Daleks start speaking at once, until they are all chanting ‘Exterminate!’. The noise is so loud, it sets my teeth on edge. 

One Dalek turns to me. “YOU KNOW THE DOCTOR. YOU UNDERSTAND HIM. YOU WILL PREDICT HIS ACTIONS.”

“Nah.” I shake my head. “No chance of that.”

“PREDICT! PREDICT! PREDICT!” It yells at me. I hold my silence. 

A Dalek rolls into the room. “TARDIS DETECTED IN FLIGHT.”

“LAUNCH MISSILES. EXTERMINATE.” The Dalek next to me commands. 

Biting my cheek, I don’t show how nervous I am. There’s no telling if the Doctor still had the idea to use the extrapolator as shielding. I wasn’t going to give the Daleks the satisfaction of seeing me worried though. Give an inch and they’d take a mile. 

Fortunately, it seems the Tardis did have the shielding as not two seconds later it starts to materialize around me. I can see the Doctor over by the console with Rose standing near him, and Jack preparing the gun. 

The words are just starting to form on the Doctor’s lips, but I don’t need them. I dive out of the way. Jack activates the gun, destroying the Dalek and blasting it’s casing open. 

There is a moment of silence, as everyone in the room digests what just happened. Then the Doctor rushes over to me, pulling me up by my arms and drawing me into a desperate hug. 

“Hey big guy.” I murmur, patting him on the back gingerly. “It’s all good, you got here in time.”

“You said it wasn’t death. But there was a pile of ash, it looked so real.” He whispers, leaning back to look at me properly. 

I gesture to myself. “Perfectly okay, the Daleks didn’t even touch me.” 

Jack saunters over, smirking. “Don’t I get a hug?” 

Laughing, I disengage from the Doctor and hug Jack. Jack picks me up and swings me around. When he places me down, Rose is there. 

“Thanks.” She mumbles. “You pushed me outta the way, it could have been me over there.” 

It was supposed to be, I think, but don’t say. Instead, I nod in return. 

Rose turns to the Doctor. “Hold on, what I don’t get is that I thought you said they were extinct. How come they’re still alive?”

“One minute they're the greatest threat in the Universe, the next minute they vanished out of time and space.” Jack adds. 

The Doctor wanders over to the Dalek, scanning the casing with his screwdriver. “They went off to fight a bigger war. The Time War.”

Jack snaps his head towards the Doctor. “I thought that was just a legend.”

“I was there.” The Doctor states, face haunted. “The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords, with the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them. I almost thought it was worth it. Now it turns out they died for nothing.”

“There's thousands of them now. We could hardly stop one. What're we going to do?” Rose asks. 

The Doctor pulls his own mask up. False cheer firmly in place, he looks at us. “No good standing round here chin wagging. Human race, you'd gossip all day. The Daleks have got the answers. Let's go and meet the neighbors.”

He heads down the walkway towards the doors, us trailing after him like puppies. I lag behind. Next to the console, I can see an echo of the Doctor that fought in the war in the Tardis. He looks defeated. There is a bag beside him, and I know it contains the Moment. 

“You can’t go out there!” Rose cries out jolting me from the afterimage. The Doctor ignores her and steps out of the Tardis anyways. 

There are three Daleks who immediately try to shoot at the Doctor. “EXTERMINATE!” “EXTERMINATE” “EXTERMINATE”

Their shots rebound off a forcefield. The Doctor just stands there unconcerned. I slip out of the doors to come stand next to him. Jack and Rose follow me, slowly. 

“Is that it?” The Doctor asks. “Useless! Non points. It's all right, come on out. That forcefield can hold back anything.”

Jack opens his mouth, but I step on his foot as hard as I can. The sound of his mouth clicking shut is music to my ears. There is no need for the Daleks to know what’s about to come of out Jack’s mouth. 

The Doctor glances back briefly. I shake my head, it’s nothing he needs to worry about. Though it is something I need to worry about. The walls that the Doctor had originally put up to block me from this, they hadn’t snapped back into place. The future, and the past, were bleeding into the real world.

Directing his attention back over to the Daleks, the Doctor continues. “Do you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions but I reckon right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left, and that's fear. Doesn't it just burn when you face me? So tell me. How did you survive the Time War?”

“THEY SURVIVED THROUGH ME.” A deep voice says form the darkness. 

As we turn to look, the lights turn on and reveal the Emperor of the Daleks. He’s in a huge casing, easily a hundred feet tall. 

The Doctor shakes his head. “Rose, Captain, Willa, this is the Emperor of the Daleks.”

“YOU DESTROYED US, DOCTOR.” The Emperor accuses. “THE DALEK RACE DIED IN YOUR INFERNO, BUT MY SHIP SURVIVED, FALLING THROUGH TIME, CRIPPLED BUT ALIVE.”

“I get it.” The Doctor responds. 

Immediately, several Daleks roll closer. They are audibly upset. “DO NOT INTERRUPT.” “DO NOT INTERRUPT.” “DO NOT INTERRUPT.”

“I think you're forgetting something.” The Doctor states. “I'm the Doctor, and if there's one thing I can do, it's talk. I've got five billion languages, and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So if anybody's going to shut up, it's you!” He turns around and yells at the Daleks who told him not to interrupt. They back away quickly. The Doctor turns back around, rage still simmering under the surface as he addresses the Emperor. “Okey doke. So, where were we?”

The Emperor seems unconcerned with the Doctor’s interruption. “WE WAITED HERE IN THE DARK SPACE, DAMAGED BUT REBUILDING. CENTURIES PASSED, AND WE QUIETLY INFILTRATED THE SYSTEMS OF EARTH, HARVESTING THE WASTE OF HUMANITY. THE PRISONERS, THE REFUGEES, THE DISPOSSESSED. THEY ALL CAME TO US. THE BODIES WERE FILTERED, PULPED, SIFTED. THE SEED OF THE HUMAN RACE IS PERVERTED. ONLY ONE CELL IN A BILLION WAS FIT TO BE NURTURED.”

“So you created an army of Daleks out of the dead.” The Doctor summarizes. 

Rose looks at the Doctor. “That makes them half human.”

“THOSE WORDS ARE BLASPHEMY!” The Emperor immediately responds. 

“DO NOT BLASPHEME.” “DO NOT BLASPHEME.” “DO NOT BLASPHEME.” The three Daleks insist form behind us. 

The Emperor continues. “EVERYTHING HUMAN HAS BEEN PURGED. I CULTIVATED PURE AND BLESSED DALEK.”

“Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?” The Doctor asks, giving the three Daleks behind us a strange look. 

“I REACHED INTO THE DIRT AND MADE NEW LIFE.” The Emperor states. “I AM THE GOD OF ALL DALEKS!”

“WORSHIP HIM.” “WORSHIP HIM.” “WORSHIP HIM.”

The Doctor shakes his head, disgust on his face. “They're insane. Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that's enough to drive anyone mad. But it's worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity. You hate your own existence. And that makes them more deadly than ever.” He turns back to the Emperor. “We're going.”

“YOU MAY NOT LEAVE MY PRESENCE.” The Emperor orders. It’s in vain though, we are already making our way back to the Tardis. 

“STAY WHERE YOU ARE.” “EXTERMINATE!” “EXTERMINATE!” “EXTERMINATE!” And the sound of the Dalek’s energy beams hitting the forcefield fills the air. 

The Doctor is the last one in through the doors, giving the Dalek’s a cheeky little smile. It’s fake of course, the sight of the Daleks are making him question everything that he did to win the war. He closes the doors, taking a second to lean his head against them.

I reach out and place a hand on his shoulder, compassion making me drop my self imposed distance. 

He sobs, just a quiet noise. One that Jack and Rose certainly can’t hear, but I can. I realize then, that it doesn’t matter if I still feel hurt over what happened earlier. This wasn’t about me right now. It was about him. I take a step closer to the Doctor and pull him into a hug. 

The Doctor goes into my arms willingly, head bowed over my neck. “The Daleks.” He whispers. “Why did it have to be the Daleks.”

“Braveheart Doctor.” Is all I can say. “It’s not over yet.”

“Of course it isn’t.” He mutters, straightening up and giving me a critical look over. His hand comes up to swipe under my nose and comes back wet with blood. 

A frown forms on my face. “Ah yes, that’s beginning to become a problem.” 

“I need to place the barrier back up again. They should have sprung back into place by themselves, but I suppose the amount of force you used to get past them was too much for them to handle.” The Doctor tells me. “You were supposed to use me as a conduit. I-“ He cuts himself off. 

“I already know you were the one to seal my memories of the future off in the first place.” I say, rolling my eyes. “I knew it as soon as I went to that place.”

His face falls. “It was easier for you that way.” 

“You don’t have to explain it to me, I understand. I also understand why you wanted me to push through in the first place, that you needed to know.” A glance over at Jack and Rose show that they are willfully trying to ignore that fact we are huddled up over next to the door. “The thing is Doctor, what happens the next time you need to know something. What’s the use of putting the barrier back up if my foreknowledge is still necessary?”

The Doctor winces, then shakes his head. “It won’t be.” There is a note finality in his voice. “And I have to put the barrier back up. No one is supposed to be seeing what you are able to see. It’s why you’re bleeding.”

“At least wait until this is over.” I insist, swiping at the remaining blood under my nose. “I can’t do anything if I can’t remember.”

Stubborn, he opens his mouth to argue, but Jack interrupts. “Doctor, the extrapolator can’t keep up under this pressure for much longer. “

“Of course it won’t.” The Doctor snarls, rushing over to the console and sending us off towards the gamestation. 

We materialize and the Doctor is off again, heading down and out of the front doors, snagging my arm as he goes. “Turn everything up. All transmitters full power, wide open. Now! Do it!”

There’s a man at the primary console. He’s already moving to do what the Doctor ordered, even as he questions it. “What does this do?”

“Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board.” The Doctor explains. “How did you get on? Did you contact Earth?”

The man shakes his head. “Well, we tried to warn them, but all they did was suspend our license because we stopped the programs.”

“And the planet's just sitting there, defenseless.” The Doctor looks over at a woman with pigtails and his voice softens. “Lynda, what're you still doing on board?” His voice hardening again, he turns back towards the man. “I told you to evacuate everyone.”

“She wouldn't go.” The man replies. 

“Didn't want to leave you.” Pigtails says, looking up at the Doctor. 

The second woman, one who looks a bit more sensible about things, pipes up. “There weren't enough shuttles anyway, or I wouldn't be here. We've got about a hundred people stranded on Floor Zero.”

“Oh, my God.” The man breathes. “The Fleet is moving. They're on their way.”

The Doctor leans over to verify, then pushes away from the console with a noise of frustration. He paces for a couple seconds before abruptly changing course and heading over to the energy stacks lining the walkway area. 

He starts pulling covers off, yanking out wires as he goes. “Dalek plan. Big mistake, because what have they left me with?” The Doctor looks over at us, but no one says anything. “Anyone? Anyone? Oh, come on, it's obvious. A great big transmitter. This station. If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it, anyone?” His face is so full of false cheer that it’s almost painful to watch.

Jack gets it first, taking a quick step forward. “You've got to be kidding.”

“Give the man a medal!” The Doctor responds. 

“A Delta Wave?” Jack asks in disbelief.

The Doctor nods. “A Delta Wave!”

“What's a Delta Wave?” Rose asks, looking between the two of them. 

“A wave of Van Cassadyne energy.” Jack explains. “It fries your brain. Stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbequed.”

“And this place can transmit a massive wave. Wipe out the Daleks!” The Doctor elaborates. 

“Well, get started and do it then.” Lynda says, a hopeful smile lighting up her face. 

At the sight of her smile, the manic energy that the Doctor had been holding onto dissipates a little. “Trouble is, wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine, should take about, oh, three days? How long till the Fleet arrive?”

The man, the one who was manning the console originally, closes his eyes. “Twenty two minutes.”

Jack frowns, contemplative. “If I can-“

“If you can what?” Rose asks. 

“Hold that thought!” Jack responds, running into the Tardis. 

I walk over to the Doctor. “Anything I can help with?” 

He pulls a small knife out of his pocket. “Here, use this and start stripping the ends of the wires so I can link them up together.”

So that’s what I do. Jack enlists Rose’s help in doing whatever he’s doing. If I remember correctly, he was disengaging the extrapolator from the Tardis to use on the gamestation. It would buy us a small bit of time, but every bit counts when you were talking about Daleks. 

Jack and Rose emerge from the Tardis with the extrapolator, bringing it over to the console and enlisting the help of the people still hanging around to get it hooked up. 

“We've now got a forcefield so they can't blast us out of the sky, but that doesn't stop the Daleks from physically invading.” Jack cautions them. 

“Do they know about the Delta Wave?” The man asks.

“They'll have worked it out at the same time.” Jack explains. “So, they want to stop the Doctor. That means they've got to get to this level, five hundred. Now, I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, five hundred to four nine five. So they'll penetrate the station below that at level four nine four and fight their way up.”

“Who are they fighting?” The business woman asks. 

Jack looks at her. “Us.”

The man scoffs. “And what are we fighting with?”

“The guards had guns with bastic bullets. That's enough to blow a Dalek wide open.” Jack responds, crossing his arms. 

The business woman sounds unimpressed. “There's five of us.”

“Rose, you can help us.” The Doctor calls out. “I need all these wires stripped bare.”

“Right.” The woman comments. “Now there's four of us.”

“Then let's move it.” Jack commands, shooing them off. “Into the lift. Isolate the lift controls.” Jack, the man, and the business woman all head over towards the lifts, but the woman with pigtails comes over towards the Doctor. 

She wrings her hands. “I just want to say, er, thanks, I suppose, and I'll do my best.”

The Doctor smiles at her half-heartedly. “Me too.” They exchange handshakes and the woman moves over towards the others near the lift. 

Jack comes over and stops in front of us next. He rocks on his heels, a brave smile coming to his face. “It's been fun, but I guess this is goodbye.”

“Don't talk like that.” Rose says, smiling. “The Doctor's going to do it. You just watch him.”

Jack doesn’t smile back. “Rose.” He states, cupping her face with his hands. “You are worth fighting for.” Jack kisses her, then turns to the Doctor. “Wish I'd never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward.” Jack kisses the Doctor as well, then he turns to me. “Spitfire, it’s been nice knowing you.” 

I get up and hug him, hard. Pulling back, I smile my best smile for him. “Captain Jack Harkness. Never, ever, for one second forget that you are fantastic. And you always will be.” 

Jack blinks, eyes a little watery. He manages to give us one last patented Captain Jack smile. “See you all in Hell.” And then he leaves. 

“He's going to be all right” Rose states, looking at the Doctor. The Doctor doesn’t respond. Her voice turns accusatory. “Isn't he?”

“Let’s get back to work.” I murmur. 

We work quietly for several seconds. 

“Suppose.” Rose starts, then hesitates.

“What?” The Doctor flicks his eyes up to look at her briefly. 

Rose shakes her head. “Nothing.”

He pauses his work, giving her his full attention. “You said suppose.”

Rose sighs. “No, I was just thinking. I mean, obviously you can't, but, you've got a time machine. Why can't you just go back to last week and warn them?”

“As soon as the Tardis lands in that second, I become part of events, stuck in the timeline.” The Doctor explains, continuing putting the connections together. 

“Yeah, thought it'd be something like that.” She responds, focusing intently on the set of wires in her own hands. 

“There's another thing the Tardis could do.” The Doctor murmurs. “It could take us away. We could leave. Let history take its course. We go to Marbella in 1989.”

Rose shakes her head. “Yeah, but you'd never do that.” 

The Doctor looks at her. “No, but you could ask. Never even occurred to you, did it?” He turns his head to me. “Or to you.”

“Well, I'm just too good.” Rose laughs. 

I don’t say anything. I already know what’s about to happen. There’s a sound, like energy is building. The Doctor looks up in hope. 

“The Delta Wave's started building. How long does it need?” He jumps to his feet and rushes over to the console, staring at the information on the monitor.

Rose looks between the console and the Doctor. “Is that bad?” The Doctor lowers his head, bracing his arms on the monitor. “Okay, it's bad. How bad is it?”

The Doctor abruptly turns to look at Rose, smile taking over his face. “Rose Tyler, you're a genius! We can do it. If I use the Tardis to cross my old timeline. Yes!” He grabs Rose’s arm and uses it to pull her towards the Tardis. She laughs in response to the Doctor’s enthusiasm. I follow after them in a more sedate manner. 

“Hold that down and keep position.” The Doctor orders Rose, placing her hand on a button. 

“What's it do?” She asks. 

“Cancels the buffers.” He responds, full nonsense at this point. “If I'm very clever and I'm more than clever, I'm brilliant, I might just save the world. Or rip it apart.”

Rose’s face scrunches up. “I'd go for the first one.”

Tilting his head, the Doctor laughs. “Me too. Now, I've just got to go and power up the Game Station. Hold on!” He runs out of the doors, closing them behind him. 

The engines start, Rose looks at rotor in confusion. “Doctor, what're you doing? Can I take my hand off? It's moving.” 

I walk up to the console area and shake my head at her. Her face drains of blood. Running over to the doors, she tries to open them, but they won’t budge. “Doctor! Let me out!” Rose orders, starting to pound on the door. “Let me out! Doctor, what've you done?”

But it’s far to late, we’ve already taken off. A hologram of the Doctor appears, exactly on time. ‘This is Emergency Program One. Rose, now listen, this is important. If this message is activated, then it can only mean one thing. We must be in danger. And I mean fatal. I'm dead or about to die any second with no chance of escape.’

“No!” Rose denies. 

The hologram continues, uncaring of her denial. ‘And that's okay. Hope it's a good death. But I promised to look after you, and that's what I'm doing. The Tardis is taking you home.’

Rose shakes her head, moving closer to the hologram. “I won't let you.”

‘And I bet you're fussing and moaning now.’ Holo-Doctor predicts. ‘Typical. But hold on and just listen a bit more. The Tardis can never return for me. Emergency Program One means I'm facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine. I want you to let it go. And if you want to remember me, then you can do one thing. That's all, one thing.’ The hologram moves its head till it’s looking straight at Rose. ‘Have a good life. Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life.’ 

‘And Willa.’ The Holo-Doctor continues, startling me. His head is now turned in my direction. ‘You came into this world under such strange circumstances, and there was so much more I wanted to teach you. But it’s not going to happen now. The Tardis is yours, she’ll help you learn what you need to. You go out there. Run. Laugh. Be kind. Life your life to the fullest extent you can.’ 

Then the hologram fizzles out and I gape at the empty space it had occupied. That last bit wasn’t supposed to happen. 

Rose makes a noise of frustration, running her hands over controls and attempting to reverse the flight. “You can't do this to me. You can't. Take me back! Take me back! No!” Nothing happens, the engines stop. 

Running to the doors, Rose peaks outside. It’s the Powell estate. Running back inside, she continues to pull levers and push buttons. “Come on, fly. How do you fly?” Rose looks at me. “Come on, help me!”

I walk over, placing a hand on top of hers to still it. “We can’t do anything right now. The Doctor sent us away for his peace of mind. Let him at least have that.” 

The look on her face after my words isn’t pretty. Betrayal. Disgust. “How can you say that? After he took you in and allowed you to stay here?” 

“I’m saying that because I respect his decision.” She opens her mouth to argue, but I shake my head. I’m not finished. “And. This isn’t the right time to try to go back.” 

I leave her there, still attempting to get the controls to work, as I go deeper into the Tardis. “Hey old girl, can I get a blank journal or something?” She chimes, opening a door on my right. I express my thanks, trailing my fingers along the doorframe as I go in. 

My room is the same as I left it this morning, or was it yesterday at this point? First thing was first though, I go into the bathroom. Taking care of the blood that was still encrusted under my nose, I grab a towel for insurance and head back out to the journal on my desk.

In the journal, I put every big plot point I can remember from the show. I do so in my own shorthand. That way, just in case someone gets ahold of it, they won’t be able to understand everything. I write everything from Torchwood, to the Master, to Amelia Pond. From David Tennant to Peter Capaldi to Jodie Whittaker. I can’t write everything, so most of it’s just hints. I don’t want to know everything anyways. That kind of responsibility is something that no one should have.

As I write, the blood starts to drip from my nose once again. I ignore it the best I can, using the towel to temper the flow. At some point, the pain in my head gets so intense I can’t even see straight. It’s then that I admit defeat, I’m not going to be able to do anything else. 

Hiding the journal in my desk drawer, I mop up the drops of blood that have splattered on the desk while I was working. I want no one to have a clue what I just did. This is cheating on a spectacular level. 

I giggle to myself. It’s not as if the Doctor can even scold me. We’re talking about the man who purposely looked for information about his death, to the point of finding out the exact date and time. 

Towel in hand, I make my way back towards the console room. 

Mickey is in the process of hooking up a chain to the console. “Is it the mini or the big yellow tow truck?” I ask him, making him jump. 

“Yellow tow truck.” He responds, before shaking his head. “Wait a minute, who the hell are you?”

“I’m Willa.” I respond, watching as Rose walks in through the doors. 

She scowls at the sight of me. “You’re still here.” 

“Course I am.” I try to smile at her, but my headache makes it difficult. “Now is the right time to try to go back.” 

“Don’t try that on me.” Rose scoffs. “You can’t just show up after the fact and say some sort of cryptic line pretending that you knew it was going to happen. The Doctor might believe that you have future knowledge, but I’m not buying it.”

Focusing on Mickey, I make eye contact with him. “Mickey Smith. Raised by his grandmother, until she tripped over a tear in the carpet. You always said you felt guilty, cause you were supposed to fix it, but never got around to it.” The blood drains from his face, and he excuses himself quickly. 

Turning to Rose, I look at her. “Rose Tyler. Daughter of Jaqueline Tyler, nee Prentice, and Peter Tyler. Your father died when you were young, and you were raised by your mother. At one point you convinced the Doctor to take you back to see your father and you caused the reapers to descend. I know what the name Jimmy Stone means to you. You are one of the Doctor’s most cherished companions-”

“Stop!” Rose shouts, face also pale. She turns away sharply. Which is good, because my legs take that moment to give out. 

I..might have overdone it a bit. So much for having a cheat sheet only I could read in my desk. At this rate, all my writing will have been for nothing.

“Let me be the one to look into the heart.” I murmur, using all my strength to stand back up. 

Rose sends me a dirty look. “And why should I do that?” 

I laugh, not in the mood to argue. “Cause if you do this, the Doctor will die. Or as close to it as he gets.” The drip from my nose is a steady stream now. “Besides, at the rate this is going I don’t think it’ll matter for much longer.” 

For the first time, concern draws itself over Rose’s face. “Are you alright?” 

“No.” I respond. “I’m not supposed to have the ability to see the future, that’s why the Doctor locked it away. But the wall came down and all my foreknowledge from the other universe is rolling around my head. The universe doesn’t like it, and my brain can’t handle the strain.”

“If I let you do this, will it help you?” Rose asks after a pause. 

“Yes.” I immediately lie. “I’ll be fixed after this.” 

She studies me, before nodding her acceptance. “Just keep away from the console.” I murmur. 

Rose yells for Mickey to start pulling. The chain strains, and the Tardis remains stubbornly shut. I lean against the coral, pressing my forehead against the glass of the time rotor. Please, I think, please. You see things just as I do, you know this has to happen one way or another. The Doctor has to be saved, so he can go on to do everything he needs to do.

At my last mental thought, the console pops open and the shine of the Tardis washes over us. “Rose, look away!” I order. 

The light dances around for a moment, and then rushes right into me. It only takes a whisper of a thought for the Tardis to close her doors and fly back towards the Doctor. In this one point in time, the Tardis and I are one and we have only one goal. To save the Doctor. 

We materialize behind him, slamming the doors open and spilling ourselves into the room. We lock the doors behind us. Rose will not see this. The Doctor turns to look at us, immediately stumbling back a few steps and falling to the floor. There is fear on his face. “What have you done?” He cries. 

“It was always coming to this.” We tell him. “I looked into the Tardis and the Tardis looked back into me.”

“Willa, you looked into the Time Vortex. No one is supposed to see that.” The Doctor says, horrified. 

“I know.” We say, tilting our head to the side. “It was supposed to be her, but Rose Tyler is important to you. I pushed it too far, my brain was overloading.” The words, it’s no use killing both of us when I was already halfway there is left hanging in the air. 

On a view screen the Emperor of the Daleks twitches its tentacles. “THIS IS THE ABOMINATION!”

“EXTERMINATE!” One of the many Daleks in the room call out, sending a beam of energy straight towards me. It’s easy work to hold out a hand and make it stop. 

“I take the words and scatter them.” We say. The words ‘Bad Wolf’ are lifted off the wall and thrown threw time and space. “A message to bring you both here.”

“Willa, you have to stop this!” The Doctor pleads, finally getting up from his ungainly sprawl on the floor. “You’ve got the entire vortex running through your head. You’re going to burn.”

“Not yet. There is still more I have to do before I stop. The Doctor must be protected” We inform him. 

“YOU CANNOT HURT ME. I AM IMMORTAL.” The Emperor cries. 

We want to laugh, but now isn’t the time. “You are not immortal. I can see everything that ever was, everything that can be. I take every single atom of your existence and I divide them.” It’s the work of a second to obliterate the whole Dalek fleet. The golden light of disintegration is beautiful against the backdrop of space. “Everything dies, all things come to an end. This is your end. The Time War is over.”

A mixture of dread and fear mingles on the Doctor’s face. “You’ve done it. Now let it go.”

“One last thing Doctor. I bring life.” We raise our arm and lock Jack into the immortal path that he always would have been in. 

“But this is wrong! You can’t control life and death.” The Doctor tells us. 

We know. We knew before we could see properly. But this was a fixed point. “This was always supposed to happen.” We remind him, there are tears streaming down our face. 

He shakes his head. “This power is going to kill you and it’s all my fault.” 

“No.” We comfort him. “This was my choice.” 

Suddenly the Doctor gets a determined look on his face. “Come here.” 

We shake our head, alarm shooting through us. “No, this was supposed to prevent that.”

“You are too young to know how to funnel the energy back into the Tardis. At least not without a little help.” The Doctor continues, stepping forward towards us. 

“No, please.” I say, horror ripping me from my communion with the powers running inside of me. The pain is unbelievable now that I’m not being shielded from it. This is important though. I bite the inside of my cheek so hard I feel the skin split, grabbing his wrists as he reaches for me. “This was to keep you safe.” 

His expression softens. Inclining his head, he leans it against mine. A spark of contact. My choice. His voice echoes in my mind. The Doctor’s presence is enormous, I’m nothing but a speck in comparison. He gently coaxes the power from me into him, repairing the barriers that I ripped down earlier as he does so. 

I collapse, the Doctor catching my weakened body. He breathes out, the power traveling out of him and back inside the Tardis. 

His own legs give out then and we tumble to the floor. 

“Why did you do that?” I manage to ask.

“What sort of adult would I be if I let a child be the one to save me?” The Doctor replies. 

I shake my head, trying to coordinate my shaky limbs into some semblance of working. “You’re going to regenerate now, I wanted to save you from that. I always felt as if you went through this body way to fast.” 

A faint laugh is the response I get. “That’s not your choice to make.” The Doctor picks me up and slowly makes his way to the Tardis. Faintly, you can hear Rose smacking on the doorway. I forgot she was there for a second. Oh god, I promised her that this would save the Doctor’s life. What is she going to think of me now?

The Doctor shifts, palming the key to the door in one hand. “It was supposed to be her?”

“Yes. This was always going to happen. One way or another.” I echo the words from earlier. 

The key goes in the keyhole, and the door opens. Rose gasps at the sight of us. “What happened?”

Grunting in response, the Doctor pushes past her, closing the door behind him. He pauses at the console, staring at something over my head. I look up see the smears of my blood over the top of the console and against the glass. “Whoops.” I comment, lips twisting into a semi bitter expression. “I didn’t realize I bled so much everywhere.”

The Doctor shifts, setting me down. I cling to his arms for a second before I realize that my legs are willing to hold my weight now. He steps away once I’m stable, pulling the dematerialization lever and sending us off. 

“Doctor? What about Jack?” Rose demands, looking angry that we’re leaving without him. 

There’s a pause, as though the Doctor is thinking up an excuse. “He decided to stay behind.” I pitch in, leaning up against the console behind me. “Rebuild the Earth and all that. The Daleks did a lot of damage before they were stopped.” 

That earns me a grateful glance from the Doctor, who I smile at in return. The smile is short lived though, a sharp pain in my stomach causes me to hunch over.

It smarts for a good 5 seconds, and I curse under my breath. The Doctor places a hand on my shoulder. “It won’t be long now.”

I ride out the wave, looking up at him blearily. “What?”

“I had wanted to prepare you better.” He says. I still don’t understand. 

“I still don’t und-“ I start to say, but cut off mid sentence as golden light dances across my hands. Horrified, I turn my gaze back to the Doctor. “What?”

The Doctor gazes back with compassion. “You obviously grew up human. Your mannerisms, the way you act, it’s all very distinct. But your mental presence is undeniably Gallifreyan. The additional tests I ran confirmed that as well.” 

The physical scan on the med table, and the vials of blood he took. I remember thinking it was weird. I knew he wasn’t doing it specifically for my wrist, but just figured he wanted to make sure I was healthy. 

The fire rises higher, crawling under my skin. It burns. I can’t help the terrified whine that rises up in my throat. 

Then the Doctor is there. He folds me into his chest, the hug comforting. “I know it’s scary. It’s terrifying, but you can’t fight it. You need to let it happen.” He says urgently. 

I don’t think I could stop it from happening, it’s burning through me like I’m dry timber. I cry out again, and this time the Doctor releases me. The fire reaches a crescendo. It hurts. I can feel everything, my old body burning up for the sake of a new one. And then it’s over, and I’m no longer in any pain.

The silence is almost deafening to my new ears. The hands I’m looking at flex at my movements, not yet feeling like they belong to me. 

“What the fuck.” Rose blurts out, startling me and causing me to look over at her. Before I can, The Doctor gets into my path, blocking my view. 

“Regeneration.” I say, looking up at him, but it’s not my voice. 

“And a fine regeneration indeed.” The Doctor replies, smiling at me. The smile turns into a grimace of pain. 

I can’t help but smile back at him, my mouth feeling too wide, too big. “Your turn.”

Rose takes a step towards us, a look of confusion on her face. “What’s going on.”

The Doctor turns to look at her. “It’s a bit dodgy, this process.”

“What process?” She demands. Her eyes keep skittering over to me, before focusing back on the Doctor. 

“Time Lords have this little trick. I’m going to change like Willa just did.” He explains.

Rose shakes her head. “Why do you have to change?”

“Because I’m dying.” The Doctor states, causing Rose to gasp. “I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex, and no one's meant to do that.” 

“There isn’t anything else you can do?” She asks.

He shakes his head, looking tired with the conversation. “And before I go. I just wanted to say that you were fantastic.” His head swings over to me. “You were fantastic.” The Doctor smiles. “And you know what? So was I.”

Light bursts from his body, golden energy arcing through the room. Seconds pass, the light recedes and a new face greets us. 

The Doctor breaths, focusing on me. “Hello. Okay.” His face contorts, tongue running over his teeth. “Ooo, new teeth. That’s weird.” 

I laugh, mouth curling into that strange new smile again. “Wait till you see your hair.” 

“Why, what’s wrong with my hair?” The Doctor demands, hands coming up to check. 

“You’re still not ginger.” I say, putting him out of his misery. 

He pouts, pulling some of the longer hair down towards his eyes so he can verify. “Auhh. I wanted to be ginger!” Reaching out, he tugs on a piece of my longer hair. “You got ginger on the first try. No fair.”

I reach up and pull a handful into my view of vision. It is indeed ginger. My nose scrunches up in disapproval. “I don’t know if I like it.” There was nothing wrong with the plain black hair I had before. 

“You’ll get used to it.” The Doctor replies. 

I hum noncommittedly, which then turns into a gag. The Doctor lunges for me, face turning alarmed as a cloud of regeneration energy streams from my mouth. 

“Something is wrong.” I manage to get out around the pain I’m suddenly in. My head feels as though it’s about to split in half. 

Of course there would be consequences to having the Time vortex running through my body for so long, I don’t know why I had thought it was over now. Though part of me isn’t surprised at all. That same part also isn’t surprised when darkness creep over my vision and swallows me up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mkay, so first thing is first. I was always really mad that the Doctor died after holding the vortex in himself for a fraction of the time that Rose did. It never made sense that he would die and she would still be alive. So, as you see, I've fixed that in my version of it. 
> 
> Also, I don’t particularly dislike Rose but I don’t particularly like her either. She was an interesting character, but I always hated how she monopolized the Doctor’s time and got angry when he showed any kind of attention to another woman. Or when he mentioned anything that she didn’t want to hear, like children or the fact that he had traveled with others before her. 
> 
> It would be a kind of 180 if she just immediately started acting nice to Willa, which is why I've written her as I wrote her here.


	4. Everybody clap your hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is almost entirely exposition and floof. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -RainingCoffee

My eyes open slowly. Stars greet me, winking out from the darkness of the sky. I’m…not entirely sure what’s going on. My head feels muddled and stuffed with cotton. 

Coming from my right is the shuffle of cloth against cloth, and then the Doctor’s head pops into view. 

“Willa!” He exclaims, relieved smile curling around the edges of his lips. “You’re up.”

I attempt to talk, but my voice cracks horribly as if I haven’t been awake in a while. The Doctor helps me sit up, handing me a glass of water. I drain the glass and the Doctor takes it back, squeezing my hand in response. “You don’t have to speak out loud. I’m tuned into you right now, all you have to do is think.”

Relief. I still feel muddled and out of sorts. The effort that talking would take seems like far to great a task at the moment. The Doctor’s eyes furrow at that, the hand not clasping mine reaches out and stokes down my hair.

I’m touched, but a tendril of amusement manages to sneak its way in. He is such a worrywart. 

The scowl on his face deepens. “I have a reason to be worrying.”

Gathering as much concentration as I can muster, I try and actually send him something concrete, instead of just stream of consciousness. ‘What happened?’

“The process went a bit wonky. Having the time vortex in you doesn’t seem to be very conductive for a peaceful regeneration.” The Doctor responds.

My neurons fire rapidly, connecting events that I hadn’t really cared about when I first woke up. Especially the revelation that I was apparently Gallifreyan. And the fact that I had just regenerated. 

“Hey!” He protests as I use my other hand to pull a handful of hair around to see it. Still ginger. It actually happened. 

Turning to the Doctor, I only ask him one thing. ‘How?’ 

His face softens. Hand coming up, he gently untangles my hand from my hair. “All I know is that when I scanned you the first time, you came up as Gallifreyan. I thought it was a trick at first. At least until I had a hold of you and you broadcasted your fear into my mind.” The Doctor shakes his head. “I did the base scans. Physical attributes, even blood type all came back as Gallifreyan.”

I shake my head, digesting that. Vibrating. I remember him vibrating. ‘You were so keyed up when you came to see me in the library after you ran the scans. I remember thinking it was weird.’ Pausing, I try to think about it rationally instead of emotionally. ‘Why didn’t you tell me then?’

“Would you have believed me?” The Doctor replies. “It was very clear to me that you were raised as a human. It was difficult enough for you to come to terms with the fact you were even in this universe in the first place.” He raises an eyebrow. “Or did I just imagine someone trying to throw themselves out into space?”

‘Don’t say that like I meant to.’ I send him. ‘I had no idea it was real, if I had been in my actual universe than I would have just fallen out into a set and not into space.’ I shake my head, annoyed that I can’t stay on topic. ‘I guess there wasn’t really a good way to do it though. At least this way proved it without a doubt.’ I gesture to my body. 

“That’s normal. The not being able to concentrate.” The Doctor tells me, taking the opportunity to sit down on the bed. 

For the first time, I notice the fact he’s wearing pajamas. With the observation comes the vague notion that he’s been in the pajamas for far longer than he should have been.

The Doctor smiles wryly. “And there’s also that. There is a reason that I blocked off the knowledge you have of the show from the other world in the first place, but you pushed yourself far past any type of limit when it comes to that. I was able to repair your barriers, but you were open to the possibilities for a long time. I wasn’t able to completely cut you off again so things might fall through every now and then.”

“And Rose told me what you said to her and Mickey.” He continues, face turning stern. “Proving a point is not worth your health.”

‘It’s not like I knew it was going to tip me over the edge.’ I reply, knowing my mental voice has probably taken on a tinge of petulance, but at this point I’m unable to stop it. 

The Doctor tilts his head, voice steady. “That’s not the point. You need to rest, promise me that you won’t tap into it unless completely necessary.” 

I study him. He looks calm and collected, but I can tell he’s still worried. The air around him is practically saturated with it. ‘I promise I’ll try not to, unless it’s completely necessary.’ And I am serious. Having blood come out of my nose and my head feel like someone is dancing on it isn’t exactly an experience I’m keen to re-visit.

The Doctor relaxes, tension releasing from his muscles. “Good, good. I’ll hold you to that.”

Suddenly, a thought hits me. I lower my gaze to the ground. Honestly I’m rather ashamed that it hadn’t occurred to me earlier. My mental voice comes out rather quiet. ‘I’m sorry.’ 

Confusion radiates off of him. “What for?”

‘You weren’t supposed to have to regenerate.’ I manage to project. 

“Oh, that. It’s no big deal.” The Doctor waves me off. “It wasn’t the worst way to die, all things considered.”

I shake my head sharply. ‘That’s not something you should trivialize. You died, Doctor. It matters.’

He studies me, face becoming serious once more. “And how did you expect to survive that, if I hadn’t stepped in?”

‘I wasn’t.’ I reply, holding up a hand to stop his immediate anger. ‘No, hold on, let me finish. I could feel it, after I talked with Rose and Mickey. I knew I had pushed to far, and that the chances of fixing it were low. With how in tune with everything I was at the time, I could see the variables, and they were not stacked in my favor.’

Sighing soundlessly, I finally look up to meet his eyes. ‘It was originally supposed to be Rose. She took in the vortex, and you saved her. I figured that since I already had a rapidly closing in expiration date, I might as well use it for something.’ The Doctor looks as though he’s about to explode, so I finish up quickly. ‘I always felt that you didn’t have enough time in that body. It was never fair to you. And I’m sorry, because you still regenerated and it was my fault.’

He makes a noise of frustration. “I don’t see how my decision to save you turned into you apologizing to me for me saving your life.” Shaking his head, his face turns even more frustrated. “More importantly, you had no idea you were anything other than human. Which means that you had no idea you would be able to regenerate. Which means that you were just going to throw your life away!”

Reaching over, he smacks me lightly on the head. “We need to get some facts straight. I am an adult. You are a child. I made the decision to protect you. There is no need to apologize for that! And for that matter, my life will never be more valuable than yours.”

Taken aback, I rub the top of my head as I look at him, eyes wide. 

“Willa.” The Doctor says, leaning in so that I’m looking him dead in the face. “Do you understand?”

‘I-I guess.’ I reply, still bewildered by his actions. 

“Good.” He leans back in satisfaction. 

Feeling a little awkward now, I change the subject. ‘What happens now?’

He shrugs. “We go on as usual.” 

Not what I was really asking, but I have a feeling he knew that. ‘So, how long have I been asleep?’

“It’s been forty three hours, fifteen minutes and twenty seconds since you first collapsed.” The Doctor says, face softening. “You’re so very young. That, coupled with the stress that the vortex caused, made for a nasty case of regeneration sickness.” 

‘Have you been in those pajamas the whole time?’ I think, bemused. 

He barks out a laugh. “Not what I thought you were going to lead with.” Shaking his head, the Doctor turns serious again. “And nah. They actually aren’t even mine. I think they belonged to a bloke Jackie was seeing.”

What? Why would he be wearing a pair of Rose’s mom’s boyfriend’s pajamas? My confusion must be clear on my face or something because he just launches into the explanation without me having to prompt him. 

“This regeneration wasn’t just tough for you, it was a rough go for me as well. I passed out shortly after you did. Then there was an issue to take care of.” The Doctor explains. 

‘Are you okay now?’ I ask, squeezing his hand. 

He nods, some of his good cheer returning. “Yep! And once I handled the issue, I moved you here and well, you know the rest.”

I frown at him. ‘You mean to tell me you’ve been sitting here ever since then?’ The Doctor stares at me evenly. ‘Doctor! You could have at least taken the time to change or eat or something. Have you even slept?’

“And you called me a worrywart.” He mumbles as if to himself, before he raises his voice. “Willa, calm down. Everything is perfectly fine. I wanted to be here when you woke up.”

‘I understand that, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore your own needs Doctor.’ I reply. I decided here and now that today will be the start of a new mission, Get the Doctor to take care of himself more. 

The Doctor stares at me, for 10, for 20, for 30 seconds before he says anything. “It’s strange. Most of the people who travel with me don’t even bother to think about things like that. I say I’m fine once and they accept it.” He tilts his head to the side. “And then there’s you. Little Willa, with a big spirit. You have seen too much of my life to take the first answer as the truth. To be honest, it’s a peculiar feeling.”

I narrow my eyes. ‘Little Willa?’ The Doctor’s lips twitch but he doesn’t say anything. I rewind what he said and some of my insistence dissipates. ‘Peculiar? I-I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad or anything.’ My face flushes, and I practically mumble the next sentence. ‘I was just worried.’

“I know.” He replies, eyes crinkling with the force of his smile. “I never said it was peculiar in a bad way.”

Then we sort of descend into silence. I shift uncomfortably, not really want to talk anymore. But at the same time not really wanting the Doctor to leave. 

“How about we read a book?” The Doctor suggests carefully.

I’m not entirely certain why he asked it like I was going to say no. Listening to him read a book sounds like a wonderful idea right now. 

His face lights up, and he reaches over for a book on the table next to my bed. Looks as though he was anticipating this. Nudging me over, the Doctor makes himself comfortable on the bed next to me. To ensure I can still talk with him even while his hands are busy with turning pages, he rolls up his sleeve and offers me his arm. 

I curl my fingers gingerly around his wrist, and then settle in for whichever story he decides to read. 

Hint, it ends up being the Princess Bride. 

This body is just at good at telling stories as his last one was. The Doctor always does the best voices, he makes the story come alive in a way that normally only happens if I read a book alone. 

We aren’t far into the book when the Doctor changes up our normal routine. I’m lying there, leaning into his arm and enjoying the story he’s bringing to life in my head, when he nudges me mentally. He inserts himself into the story I’ve created and adds a bit of detail. I’m confused at first, but the next time he does it I think I start to understand. I add my own embellishment here and there, spring boarding off of the material the Doctor has inserted me. 

Halfway through the book, the story is being told entirely through mental contact. The Doctor animates the characters, making them move about, I add background for them to move through. 

By the end of the story, I’m completely engrossed by this whole fantasy world we’ve created. It dissolves slowly, but I don’t think I’ll forget the feeling of working together with him to make it. It was fascinating. 

‘That was so cool!’ I think to him, squeezing his arm and beaming so hard that I hardly notice how strange it still feels. 

“It was, wasn’t it?” The Doctor replies, a sneaky smile lurking at the corner of his lips. 

Turning my head to clear my throat, my hand comes up as a shield to cover the sound. The Doctor frowns, gently grabbing my hand and placing it back on his arm. “Willa, you need to stay in contact so I know how to help.”

‘Okay.’ I think, bemused again. ‘My throat is dry. Is that glass of water still hanging around?’

The Doctor frowns out over at the table, where an empty glass of water stands. “Stay here, I’ll go get you one.” He pats my hand, then gets up and leaves the room. 

Okay, that was weird. I know that things change with regeneration, but I suppose I didn’t expect anything to change in respect to me. That didn’t seem to be the case though. He was always attentive before when I talked or something, but I don’t remember the Doctor being ready to jump up for something at the first sign of me needing it. 

Though I wasn’t going to lie, it was kinda nice. Anyways, now that he was busy doing something else it was time to check out what I looked like in the mirror. I scooch my way to the edge of the bed and jump down, padding to the bathroom door. 

I don’t really notice anything is wrong until I’m in front of the sink and it ends up being much higher up than I remember it being. 

Whirling around, I look for the ceiling to floor mirror. I find it, and still at sight that greets me. The small waif of a girl in the mirror that’s looking back at me can’t be me. 

I’m almost a full foot shorter than I was before. The Doctor was right, I did have ginger hair but he had failed to mention that it went halfway down my back. A light sprinkling of freckles covered the bridge of my nose, with brilliant blue eyes to complete the picture. 

I flush as I realize I’ve seen those eyes before, on the face of a man who doesn’t even look like that now. 

A throat is cleared from the doorway. I look over, unsurprised to find the Doctor looking back at me. He walks over, coming to stand behind me in front of the mirror. “Were you actually even thirsty, or did you just want to get me out of the room?” He asks. The question is a bit harsh, but his tone isn’t. Like he’d be fine with it either way. 

I shift, reaching for his hand which he immediately stretches out to meet me halfway. ‘I was thirsty, honestly. And then I figured since I had the opportunity, I would check out what I looked like.’ I’m sure my mental tone takes on a more irritated flavor, as the Doctor’s lips twitch when I say the next bit. ‘I didn’t expect to find that I’d shrunk a foot and now look like a ten year old!’

“Regeneration, it’s a lottery.” The Doctor responds. 

I glare at him. ‘Says the man who rarely gets a body that isn’t under 6 feet tall.’

He brings his unoccupied hand up and waves it at me in an unconcerned way, teasing smile firmly in place. “And some people are better at exploiting it than others.”

We are going to play it that way are we? ‘Ah yes, that’s why you’ve been ginger for all your regenerations. Because you wanted it so much, and you were so good at exploiting the cycle.’ The Doctor pouts. Willa 1, Doctor 0

‘No, but seriously Doctor.’ I redirect the conversation. ‘Why am I a child again?’

The Doctor’s pout smoothes out into a soft look. “You’ve always been a child to me.” He must know that that was the wrong thing to say, because he starts rambling through the next bit. “But if you were to be technical it probably has something to do with growth cycles and the fact that your last body wasn’t the healthiest. I was trying to get you up to a healthy weight, but you were fighting me on it.” A pointed look is thrown in my direction.

I don’t really want to get into it, so I ignore that and change the subject. ‘But now I can’t even reach the sink properly!’ I whine as obnoxiously as possible, just to break the ambivalent mood of course.

The Doctor barks out a laugh, hand reaching out and tugging on a strand of my hair. “You’re going to be a handful, aren’t you?” 

‘I resent that remark.’ I tease him back. ‘I’ve always been a handful. Now I’m just a short handful.’

He rolls his eyes in response, but very pointedly doesn’t say anything to deny what I’ve just said. 

Things move fairly quickly then, I finally get my glass of water, and my voice back. After that happens, I shoo him out of my room so he can get dressed properly and I can take a shower. 

The Doctor seems hesitant to go, looking back even as I shut the door behind him. It makes me think that I was in a worse way than the Doctor had told me about. It would make sense, he was so very pleased when I woke up. 

I go about my usual routine, noting that there were some things I didn’t have to worry about doing quite yet. And strangely enough, that I didn’t really like the smell of my shampoo anymore, which led to a 5 minute detour of me smelling all the shampoo bottles in the closet next to the shower before I found one I liked again. 

Crisis averted, I attempted to wash my unreasonably long hair. I mean, it was nice to look at but it took forever to lather the shampoo into, and even longer to rise it out. Not to mention I had to do the same thing with the conditioner. 

Maybe I could convince the Doctor to take me somewhere to get my hair cut? 

Speaking of the Doctor, there were several things I noticed that I found strange. Before, I noted that he seemed more attentive now, but that wasn’t everything. I was able to piece together, through the faint images I still had in my head, that he looked older appearance wise than he should. 

If I remember correctly, he regenerated younger for the specific reason that Rose liked younger pretty boys. Which quite frankly was ridiculous, because anyone besides the Doctor could see that she had liked him just fine as he was. It was the same body I remember him having, just aged a bit. And there was something else, something that I couldn’t put my finger on. 

Frustrated, I let go of the thought. If it was really important then it would come back to me at some point. Then I busy myself with finishing my shower.

That finished, I go looking for clothes. I wasn’t interested in trying to find that one perfect outfit like the Doctor always did, I just wanted something comfy. The Tardis delivered, she always does, by having a pair of leggings and a graphic tee waiting on my bed for me when I make my way out of the bathroom.

I change into the clothes provided, then look around my room awkwardly. I’m not entirely sure what to do now. The Tardis burbles, opening my door and flashing the lights at me. Smiling, I decide to take her up on her offer.

Navigating the Tardis seems easier now, it’s almost as if she’s being extra helpful now. With the assistance, it doesn’t take long to find the Doctor. He’s in the wardrobe, which is far bigger than I remember it being on the show. Back when he regenerated into his 7th body it had just seemed like a small room. It seems like he’s found his pin stripe suit, and he’s in the process of shrugging on the signature hero coat. 

I study him, grateful for the opportunity to do so without scrutiny in response. He really is too skinny for words. “You are really skinny.” I say out loud, startling him. 

The Doctor whirls around, smile forming on his face. “Willa! There you are, I’ve been waiting for you.”

What? I’m about to respond to that, but it finally hits me what I couldn’t grasp when I was in the shower. The thing that was bugging me about the Doctor. David Tennant’s eyes were supposed to be brown, but the Doctor still had the same ice blue eyes that his predecessor had. The same eyes that I now saw staring at me from the mirror. 

A hand waving in my face distracts me from the revelation, bringing my attention to the concerned frown on the Doctor’s face. “Willa? Are you not feeling well again?”

“I’m fine.” I tell him, but the frown persists. Tentatively, not sure if it’s okay now that I have my voice back, I reach out with my hand and share with him what I’ve just noticed. 

His face clears. “Oh, is that all? You had me worried.”

I huff out a breath, exasperated. “I told you I was fine.” Narrowing my eyes at him, I tilt my head to the side. “You aren’t going to be super overprotective of me now that you know I’m Gallifreyan are you?”

“If you want to be technical, I’ve known you were Gallefreyan since the day you got here.” The Doctor responds, but his face softens and he looks away. “I can’t exactly help it now. Every instinct I have is telling me that it’s what I should be doing.” He looks back over to me, then nods down at my hand. The hand that is still holding on to his. “You feel the pull as well. It’s something that naturally happens between a child and an adult willing to take care of them.”

I pull my hand away from his and stare at it, betrayed. “You’re right. I-I didn’t even think about it. It just felt like the natural thing to do.” I had been enjoying the feeling of being taken care of, it hadn’t crossed my mind to wonder why I was feeling that way. Looking up at him, I tilt my jaw in defiance. “I don’t want you to feel some sort of responsibility for me just because it’s some sort of instinct. And I’ll keep my hands to myself in the future.”

The Doctor puts a hand on my head and viciously ruffles my hair. “You aren’t listening to me. I’ve known you were Gallifreyan since you’ve been here. I’ve felt the pull since then, and yes I’ll admit I was a little more open with you than I normally would have been with a general companion, but it wasn’t till I got to know you more that I began to allow myself to act that way.” 

Pushing his hand off of my head, I think about what he is saying. The Doctor was open, if cautious with me at first, but over time that evolved. He would come find me and invite me to read with him, and even from the beginning he would try to make sure I ate properly. Or we would have long conversations about one thing or another. When I started to feel more comfortable, and I knew it wouldn’t just be me forcing my company on him, that’s when I started to seek him out as well. 

I refocus on him in the present. He’s patiently waiting for me to come to my own conclusion. I couldn’t lie, it would be nice, having someone who was interested in my wellbeing around. But at the same time, we’d been talking about what I wanted the entire time. 

“How do you feel about this?” I ask him. “I know you didn’t exactly expect for something like this to happen.” 

The Doctor hums, looking contemplative. “You more than anyone know how damaged I was after the war. Still am, if I’m truly honest.” He continues with a wry tilt to his mouth. “I didn’t really know how to feel at first, when a child fell into my lap. My people were gone, but in you I found hope that no matter how impossible it seemed, maybe not everyone was dead.” 

I nod, to show I’m following him, but I don’t say anything. I remember it being rare, the Doctor opening up like this and I don’t want him to clam back up cause I said something wrong.

“At least that’s how it was at first.” The Doctor laughs suddenly, smiling. “You even called me out on it. On the way I was looking at you. But then I started to get to know you as a person and not as an idea.” He focuses on me, the full force of his attention is like a physical presence. “This is no longer about instinct or what I should be doing. I want to be the one to take care of you. Do you want that as well?” 

“I’m not…good at letting people take care of me.” I admit, looking down at my hands. My fingers twist together in anxiety. I want what he’s talking about so much it aches, but I know I’m going to end up messing something up. It’s what always happens. 

The Doctor reaches over and stills my hands. He nudges at the edge of my mind. A question is posed. Did I want to continue things like we did today. ‘Yes.’ Is my immediate response. 

“Then it’s settled.” The Doctor states out loud. “We continue on as we are and go from there.”

I look up at him. He’s looking back at me, an encouraging expression on his face. Hesitantly, against my better judgement, I give in. “Okay. Let’s try.” 

The Doctor’s encouraging look evens out into a grin. One that I can’t help but return, even though my mouth still feels odd doing it. 

“You’ll get used to that too.” The Doctor murmurs. 

“It’s so weird.” I respond. “My hair is too long, my mouth feels too wide and the person staring back at me from the mirror is a stranger.”

He hums, tapping a finger against his mouth. “I could always give you a haircut?” 

I perk up. “Oh! Would you? It was such a hassle to wash all of it today.”

“Of course.” The Doctor laughs, standing up and holding out a hand to help me up as well. 

So that’s what we do. The Doctor finds a chair for me to sit on, wrapping a towel around my neck to catch the clippings. Then he proceeds to give me a haircut. 

It wasn’t the…best haircut I’ve ever gotten, but the length was a lot better. And the Doctor looks so pleased with himself that in the end, I wasn’t all that unhappy about it. 

We end up in the kitchen after that, trying to find food we liked. Which was a whole new ballgame with brand new taste buds. The Doctor was creating a sort of game out of it. I got the feeling that he enjoyed being able to share these things with someone once again. The more time that passed since I woke up though, highlighted the fact that there was a person who was missing. I look up at the Doctor and ask the question that’s been hanging in the air. “Where’s Rose?”

His smile becomes fixed, frame freezing for a second before he tries to play it off. “She’s just spending some time with her mom, s’all.”

I frown, pursing my lips. “I may look 10 now, but I’m not actually that young.” 

The Doctor sighs, setting down the carton of chocolate ice cream he had been sampling. “We had a chat, one that had been a long time coming. I pointed out a couple of things to her that I’d been remiss on addressing in the past.” He leans back, looking strangely okay with the whole situation. “So for now, she’s spending some time with her mother.”

“And you’re okay with that?” I ask, somewhat confused by the fact that he even had a talk with her in the first place. I don’t ever remember that happening, at all, ever. 

“It needed to be done.” The Doctor states. 

My eyes furrow as I look down into the mac and cheese I just pulled towards me. I take a bite but I don’t really taste it. This is something that I don’t remember happening at all and even though the Doctor repaired my barriers and I can’t tell for sure, I’m fairly certain that it didn’t happen in the future. 

The Doctor’s spoon smacks gently against my hand, breaking me from my thoughts. “There is nothing we can do now, no sense worrying over it.” He tells me. 

I study him for a second before deciding he’s probably right and placing that concern on the backburner. Licking the chocolate reside left behind on my hand, I immediately cringe at the taste, then stare at he Doctor in disbelief. He stares back, just as taken aback as I am. 

“Seriously?” He exclaims. 

“Give me that!” I demand, making grabby hands towards the container of ice cream in front of him. He shoves it in my direction and I dip my spoon in, bringing it to my mouth. The same thing happens. I blink down at the box, pout forming on my face. 

The Doctor starts laughing and I give him my best glare, which only causes him to start laughing harder.


	5. The story line arrives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is more floof, also plot. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> ~RainingCoffee

After the life changing discovery in the kitchen, I found that my dislike of chocolate ice cream extended to other forms of chocolate as well. 

“How did this happen?” I ask, bewildered.

The Doctor doesn’t reply, as he’s still to busy laughing. 

A frown tugs at my lips. I know it’s stupid. After everything that happened, falling into another universe to regenerating, this is the one thing that really drove home that things were going to be different now. 

xxxx

And so the days pass. Full of good books and exploration. It’s a very slow couple of weeks, but it was exactly what I needed, and I expect it’s what the Doctor needed as well. The more time that passes, the more at home I feel in this new body of mine. 

The more at home I feel, though, the more I itch to go out and do something else. So, on the day that marks two weeks of us just puttering around the Tardis, I finally ask if we can go somewhere. 

“Of course we can.” The Doctor states. “I was just waiting for you to feel ready.”

I tilt my head in consideration. “So where are we going to go?” 

The Doctor hums in contemplation, tapping his finger against his mouth. “I think I know just the place.”

“Where?” I ask him, leaning forward in interest. 

“Now that is going to be a secret.” He responds, smirking at the frown on my face. 

He ends up taking me to the planet Biblios. It’s one of the few library planets strewn across the universe. Apparently, all the data of the known universe was stored here. I call bullshit on that, but it was nice to travel through the maze of information none the less. 

Once the floodgates were open though, it seemed like the Doctor had all sorts of ideas about where to take me. 

We go to Avalon, a planet with six moons. It was an incredibly beautiful place. Too bad the Doctor almost got lynched by an angry mob of grandmothers who took offense to the fact that I was skinny. They accused the Doctor of not feeding me enough and started beating him with brooms. I’m not going to lie, it was so funny I almost didn’t wade into the fray to help him out. 

After that the Doctor, being fed up with alien’s for the time being, took us to a planet called Woman Wept. The entire continental land mass is shaped like a lamenting woman, and the whole ocean is frozen in place. It’s sort of mind boggling to be standing in front of a wave that is over a hundred feet high.

Next, we stumble upon a planet known for being one of the most beautiful and peaceful places in the universe. Which would normally sound like a good thing, but the Eye of Orion was anything but peaceful when we visited it. For some reason, the Tardis landed when another version of the Doctor was already there, so instead of being able to enjoy the scenery, we spent two hours hiding behind a wall waiting for him and his companions to go away. 

For the anniversary of me appearing on the Tardis, one whole linear year, the Doctor took me to Disneyland. Only it wasn’t just any Disneyland. It was the one on Clom, and it covered nearly half the planet. It took us days to go through every ride!

Shortly after that, I started my studies on the Gallifreyan language. The Doctor insisted I learn, though it’s not like I minded, and as a treat for memorizing the alphabet he took me to go see a planet called Crafe Tec Heydra. On one side of the largest mountain range there were carvings of the Time War. It was written in old high Gallifreyan, so I wasn’t able to understand it. The only part I could understand was etched underneath it in another language entirely. The words said, ‘You are not alone.’

Something about them immediately caused my nose to bleed, so the Doctor bustled me off into the Tardis right away. I didn’t mind. The words gave me the creeps. 

After the incident on Crafe Tec Haydra, the Doctor stuck to a couple of nicer places for a bit, like Delphon. The natives communicated through their eyebrows, and any sort of actual speech was frowned upon. We were there for twelve hours and it was like one huge charades game. 

We had a close call on Ephte Major, home of the greedy and slug like Ephtes. They stole the Tardis, and we spent 4 days slogging our way through the jungle trying to get it back. Well, the Doctor spent 4 days slogging through the jungle, I got sick on day 2 and by the end of day 3 the Doctor was half carrying me on his back. I don’t even remember getting back to the Tardis. The Doctor later told me that what I came down with was a general illness that most young Gallifreyans get at some point or another, their equivalent to the flu. Of course I would go and get it when we didn’t have access to proper facilities. 

On Dido we had a particularly interesting adventure. It was a mountainous desert world, home to vicious looking, but completely harmless sand seals. We spent a week there, partying with the locals and surfing the sand on the sand seals. 

The visit to Florana came as a present for my 20th birthday. It was another paradise planet, or near enough that it qualified in my book. Miles of flowers, as far as the eye could see and sand as soft as a baby bird’s down. Its oceans had effervescent water, where the bubbles would support you without the need for you to swim. It was a fantastic present. 

We accidently landed on the planet Esto, and my burgeoning telepathic senses got a workout when we came across telepathic plants. They insisted on coming home with us, to the point that before I knew it they were curled up in my hair and ready to go. The flower crown looked nice, but it was a hassle to try explaining to them why we couldn’t take them with us. By the end, I had made such a mess of the explanation that even the Doctor was in stitches from laughing so hard.

It’s not like we were always running around, even though it might sound like it. Sometimes the Doctor would insist on my studies, he was trying to flesh out my knowledge of physics and mathematics. Other times we would just sit and enjoy a good book or have a movie marathon. I swear the day I introduced the Doctor to the Lord of the Rings was the day his life changed for the better. 

So the years passed quickly, some days were fun and others were less so, but that was all a part of life in the end. The Doctor really was very good at this whole taking care of a kid thing, and I was getting better of being taken care of. All and all I would say we were getting by quite well in this magical box of his.

And then it happened. We ended up having a rather close brush with a human trafficking ring right after the 5th anniversary of me coming to this universe, which included an unintentional hop into another universe where we met four other Doctors. Once the situation was dealt with, we all ended up toasting smores and trading stories by a fire until the Doctor and I had to return to our own universe. I was sad to see them go, but glad I got to meet them in the first place. 

Unfortunately, seeing the other Doctor’s had reminded me of one important fact. That fact was Rose. It had been over five years for us since Rose had decided to spend some time with her mother. 

So, with what felt like a stone in my stomach, I brought it up with the Doctor. 

“You want to go back for her?” He asks me.

“I think we should.” I nod decisively. “You said that she decided to stay with her mother for a little bit, not that she wanted to stay home forever.”

The Doctor studies me closely. “I know there was tension between the two of you before-“

I cut him off. “It’s not going to be a problem. I think I’ve grown up at least a bit in the last 5 years.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about.” I can swear I hear him mumble, but when I ask he just sends me an innocent look. 

And so, 5 years later for us and 3 months later for her, we materialize outside of the Powell Estate. 

I dress in my most comfortable clothes, a pair of black leggings and a graphic tee that says ‘Keep Calm and Trust the Doctor.’ I remember when we found the shirt. I loved it right off the bat, but the Doctor just face palmed. It took me quite a while to convince him to get it for me. 

The Doctor notes it, and he sends me a concerned look. “We don’t have to do this, y’know. We can come back at any time.”

I shake my head. “Nah, it’s now or never. Allons-y, Doctor!”

“I rue the day I ever said that out loud in your presence.” He mutters. Though I don’t really blame him. The moment he said that word it was like a flip was switched, and suddenly that’s all I wanted to say. On all the adventures. 

The climb up the stairs was normal, and before I knew it we were awkwardly standing outside of the Tyler flat after ringing the doorbell. 

Jackie’s dulcet tones easily carry through the door. “Rose! Get the door, would ya?”

A thump answers her, then the sound of feet walking closer to us. Rose must look through the peep hole because there is a long pause from the sound of footsteps reaching the door and the door actually opening. 

When it does open, it opens in a rush. Rose’s upset face greets us. She doesn’t say anything. 

“Hello.” I say with a wave. 

“Three months. It’s been three months since you left me here.” Rose seethes, glaring at the Doctor. 

“I told you I would be back after you spent some time with your mum.” The Doctor states, though it comes out more as a question. He looks very confused. 

Rose huffs, narrowing her eyes. “Yeah, and I thought you meant like a week or somthin’, not three bloody months.” She glances behind her, stepping out into the hall and pulling the door mostly closed. “Mum’s been on me to get a job!”

The Doctor tilts his head to the side. “Er, sorry?”

I bite back a laugh, which earns me a tug on a lock of hair in response. 

“And you!” Rose exclaims, rounding on me with a finger outstretched. “You’ve changed again.”

“No I haven’t!” I respond, looking down at my hands in confusion. 

“You’re older.” Suddenly, Rose looks uncertain. “How long has it been for the two of you?”

Oh, now I kind of feel bad for her. Reaching out, I touch the Doctor on the wrist and urge him not to tell her how long it’s been. 

“It’s been a bit.” The Doctor responds with a smile. “Willa and I had to get used to our new bodies.”

“Now we’re here to pick you up to go traveling again.” I chime in. 

“Unless you don’t want to go?” The Doctor finishes. 

Rose is quiet, eyes flickering back and forth between the two of us. Eventually, slowly, she nods. “Yeah, I still do want to go with you. I just need to go let mum know.”

I smile encouragingly, though Rose still looks uncertain as she steps back into her apartment, like she thinks we are going to leave her behind again. 

As soon as she’s out of sight, I round on the Doctor who is already looking a little guilty. “I thought you said she decided to spend some time with her mother?”

“To be fair, I never used those words exactly.” The Doctor hedges. “I only said she was spending some time with her mother, not that she was the one who decided to.”

“Yeah, but you heavily hinted at it.” I respond, raising an eyebrow. 

“I told you I had some words with her.” The Doctor shrugs. 

Reaching up to touch his wrist again, I share the reason why I’m pushing at this. Rose had looked uncertain and hurt. It didn’t sit well with me. 

The Doctor ruffles my hair, fond and exasperated in equal measure. “It’s already happened, I can’t go back and change the past now. We’ll just have to show her differently.”

I frown up at him, but ultimately decide that he’s right. 

Rose emerges from the apartment, and I catch a glimpse of a disapproving Jackie before the door closes behind her. She had a small backpack and at some point she seems to have regained her confidence because there’s a large smile on her face. “Let’s go!” 

The Doctor and I exchange a look a look of growing excitement, smiles of our own forming on our faces. 

“Allons-y!” I say, leading the way down the hallway. 

“Allons-y?” I hear Rose ask the Doctor behind me. 

“It means let’s go in French.” The Doctor mutters. “I said it once in front of her and I’ve regretted it ever since.”

I smirk at him over my shoulder, enjoying the look of longsuffering exasperation on his face. “You’re only upset cause you wanted it to be your catch phrase and I took it over.”

The Doctor shakes his head. Leaning closer to Rose, he puts a hand up like he’s telling her a secret. “I think it might be because she won’t stop saying it. No matter where we go. Everywhere.”

Rose puts a hand over her mouth, but it’s evident she’s holding back a smile. The Doctor sends a look my way, as if to say ‘See! Progress!’.

I turn back the right way round in order to hide my eyeroll. It’s going to take a bit more than a shared joke to make things right, even I know that. 

It takes less than a minute to get to the Tardis. I unlock the doors, standing back to let Rose in. She goes in slowly, taking in the console room. There is a look of wonder in her eyes. 

I glance at the Doctor, to which he nods back at me. Message received then. 

Rose shakes her head, spinning around to look at us. “So where are we going?”

The Doctor rushes up the grating to stand near the console. “I was thinking 1970’s.”

I close the door behind me, walking up the grating at a slower pace. “1970’s where?”

Smirking, the Doctor pulls a CD from his pocket and carefully wipes it off before inserting it into the console. 

Some sort of old rock band starts playing from the speakers. 

“Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number One in 1979.” He explains, bobbing his head as he walks around the console inputting coordinates. 

Rose leans forward, signature smile going strong. “You're a punk.” She looks highly amused. “That's what you are. A big old punk with a bit of rockabilly thrown in.”

The Doctor’s eyes flicker between us. “Would you two like to go see him?”

“In concert?” Rose asks.

“What else is a Tardis for?” He exclaims, in full performance mode. “I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar, the first anti-gravity Olympics, Caesar crossing the Rubicon or Ian Dury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November, 1979. What do you think?”

Rose smiles, looking excited. “Sheffield it is.”

“Hold on tight!” The Doctor states, pulling the lever for dematerialization. 

The Tardis takes off, shaking like crazy. My hold on the railing behind me is the only thing that keeps me on my feet. The Doctor and Rose do a good job of staying upright from their place next to the console right up until the Tardis stops, and then they get thrown to the ground. 

The Doctor laughs, Rose following suit. I walk over and help the two of them up.

“1979.” The Doctor comments, heading down the grating. “Hell of a year. China invades Vietnam. The Muppet Movie. Love that film. Margaret Thatcher. Urgh. Skylab falls to Earth, with a little help from me. Nearly took off my thumb.”

Walking out the door he continues. “And I like my thumb. I need my thumb. I'm very attached to-“

And for some reason he cut himself off. It isn’t until I walk outside of the Tardis myself that I see why. There are several people in Redcoats aiming guns at us. Subtly, I close the doors behind me. 

“My thumb.” The Doctor finishes, cheer fading. 

“1879, Doctor.” I murmur, coming to stand next to him. 

He shrugs. “Same difference.”

It’s really not. 

One of the soldiers in the red coat urges his horse to step closer, he has a gun pointed at us. “You will explain your presence. And the nakedness of this girl.” He orders, pointing at Rose. 

“Are we in Scotland?” The Doctor asks, affecting a rather authentic Scottish accent. 

“How can you be ignorant of that?” The soldier asks in disbelief. 

“Oh, I'm, I'm dazed and confused.” The Doctor says, drawing the words out. Gesturing at Rose, he lays it on thick. “I've been chasing this, this wee naked child over hill and over dale.” 

Rose frowns, eyes flickering to my outfit then back to her own. 

Placing a hand on my shoulder, the Doctor continues. “This is my daughter, Willa.”

I bow my head, making sure to look as plain as possible. 

The soldier narrows his eyes. “Will you identify yourself, sir?”

“I'm Doctor James McCrimmon, from the township of Balamory. I have my credentials, if I may.” The Doctor reaches for his pocket, waiting for the nod of approval, which he gets after a moment of contemplation. Pulling the psychic paper from his pocket, he offers it to the soldier. “As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself.”

“Let them approach.” A woman’s voice comes from the carriage from behind the soldiers. 

“I don't think that's wise, ma'am.” The soldier who has been doing all the talking states. 

The voice, stern now, repeats itself. “Let them approach.”

The soldier straightens up, finally pulling his gun from it’s position firmly on us. The other soldiers follow his lead. “You will approach the carriage and show all due deference.”

The Doctor nods, looking confused, but takes the steps necessary to approach the carriage. 

A man rushes around the carriage to open the door. A smile builds on the Doctor’s face at the sight of the person inside. “Willa, Rose, might I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith.”

“Rose Tyler, Ma'am.” Rose says with a curtsey. “And my apologies for being so naked.”

“I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me.” The Queen states, before her eyes slide to mine. “And you are?”

I curtsey as well. “Willa McCrimmon, Your Majesty. It’s an honor.”

The Queen nods, neutral, then turns her attention to the Doctor. “And you, Doctor. Show me these credentials.”

The Doctor hands her the psychic paper. 

She studies it, a small sliver of annoyance flickering over her face. “Why didn't you say so immediately? It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector.”

“Does it?” The Doctor asks, I can feel him wince as I subtly step on his foot. “Yes, it does. Good. Good. Then let me ask - why is Your Majesty travelling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?”

“A tree on the line.” The Queen states, pursing her lips in frustration. 

That’s enough to catch the Doctor’s attention. “An accident?”

Queen Victoria just looks at him. “I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned.”

“Assassination attempt then.” I murmur. 

“What, seriously?” Rose says in disbelief. “There's people out to kill you?”

“I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun.” Queen Victoria states, leaning back. There is a sort of quiet dignity about her. One that makes me stand up straighter I response. 

“Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence.” The soldier says, addressing her Majesty. “We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow.”

“This Doctor, his daughter, and his timorous beastie will come with us.” Queen Victoria states. 

The soldier nods. “Yes, Ma'am. We'd better get moving, it's almost nightfall.”

“Indeed.” The Queen agrees. “And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales intended to scare the children.” A rather frightening smile comes to her face. “But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!”

Her footman comes back around to close her door, and the procession moves on. 

The Doctor, Rose and I wait until we are behind the carriage to start walking. 

“It's funny though, because you say assassination and you just think of Kennedy and stuff. Not her.” Rose states, looking around in interest. 

“1879? She's had, oh, six attempts on her life? And I'll tell you something else.” The Doctor bites his lip, looking like a kid on Christmas. “We just met Queen Victoria!”

I beam, nodding. “This is so cool!”

Rose leans forward, putting her arm through the Doctors. “I know!”

The Doctor stiffens in response, but she doesn’t seem to notice. 

“I want her to say we are not amused. I bet you five quid I can make her say it.” Rose continues, smiling up at him. 

He pulls away, the motion masked as he uses the hand to wave her off. “Well, if I gambled on that, it'd be an abuse of my privileges as a traveler in time.”

Rose sends him a conspiratorial look. “Ten quid?”

“Done.” I chime in, speeding up to get between them. Slipping my hand into the Doctors, I can feel his relief as he squeezes mine in return. 

Rose looks a little disgruntled, but she doesn’t say anything is response to being jostled out of her spot.

Twitching my fingers, I assure him that I’ll try my best to stand between them from now on. Some of the tension leaves his shoulders, even as the wind blows his hair everywhere. 

“Hey, how come they said something about my clothes and not yours?” Rose asks me. 

I’ll give her that one, she may be wearing a mini skirt but my leggings and graphic tea are equally out of place in the 1800’s. “I’m not entirely sure to be honest.”

“It has to do with perception.” The Doctor chimes in. “Because Willa has spent so much time on the Tardis she’s accumulated some of the energy and it acts like a low level perception field around her. So people can see her, but what they see is sort of fudged around the edges so to speak.” 

“Is that why you never change?” Rose asks. “Cause you didn’t change when we visited Charles Dickens.”

“Exactly!” The Doctor confirms. 

xxxx

It takes a few hours, but we finally come across a gorgeous brick manor, with an observatory and a huge telescope on top. I tug on the Doctor’s hand. “Look!”

“Yes, now that is interesting isn’t it.” The Doctor murmurs, studying the telescope with a furrow between his eyes. 

The Queen gets out of the carriage, and a man comes out of the front of the building, greeting the Queen. “Your Majesty.” The man bows. 

“Sir Robert. My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?” The Queen asks, performing the necessary pleasantries. 

“She's indisposed, I'm afraid. She's gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she's taken the cook with her.” Sir Robert states, looking slightly distressed. “The kitchens are barely stocked. I wouldn't blame Your Majesty if you wanted to ride on.”

“Oh, not at all.” The Queen waves him off. “I've had quite enough carriage exercise. And this is charming, if rustic. It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate.” Gesturing towards the house, she nods. “Now, shall we go inside?” There’s a pause as the Queen looks over to Rose. “And please excuse the naked girl.”

“Sorry.” Rose murmurs, looking uncomfortable. She tugs on the bottom of her skirt, trying to make it go lower. 

“She's a feral child.” The Doctor says, biting back a smile. “I bought her for sixpence in old London Town. It's was her or the Elephant Man, so-“

Rose cuts him off, glaring. “Thinks he's funny but I'm so not amused.” Her glare turns into a sly look as she turns back to the Queen. “What do you think, Ma'am?”

The Queen stares at Rose. “It hardly matters.” Turning back to Sir Robert, she grants him a slight smile. “Shall we proceed?”

The Queen and her entourage head for the front of the building. Rose leans in, lowering her voice. “So close.”

“Not likely.” I whisper back. “I think you’re going to end up pissing her off.”

“Makerson and Ramsey.” The man who I’ve determined to be the head guard calls out. “You will escort the property. Hurry up.”

“Yes, sir.” The guards, who I can only assume are Makerson and Ramsey, snap to attention and one grabs a small wooden box from the carriage. 

The three of us watch the box, interested in what’s inside. “So what's in there, then?” The Doctor asks. 

“Property of the Crown. You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir.” The head guard states before looking at the rest of his men. “The rest of you go to the rear of the house. Assume your designated positions.”

“Sir!” And the soldiers move. 

The Doctor leans over towards me and grimaces comically. I bite back a smile, hiding my face in his shoulder. 

“Do you think we should follow them?” Rose asks. 

The Doctor and I shrug. “Might as well.” We say in unison. 

Rose frowns at us, even as we start making our way into the house. “Now you two are getting a little creepy.”

Looking at each other, the Doctor and I shrug once again. Rose give us an unimpressed look in response. 

Increasing our speed, we end up catching up to the Queen and Sir Robert, following them up the stairs and into the observatory that I had noticed when we first saw the house. The telescope that was visible from below is right up in front of us now. 

“This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour.” Queen Victoria states. 

“All my father's work.” Sir Robert explains. “Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession. He spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself.”

“I wish I'd met him. I like him. That thing's beautiful.” The Doctor gestures to the telescope. “Can I?”

“Help yourself.” Sir Robert nods. 

The Doctor and I immediately step forward, Rose a step behind us, going up to the telescope and checking it out.

“What did he model it on?” The Doctor asks, gently touching the side of the gorgeous contraption. 

“I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little, shall we say, eccentric.” Sir Robert’s voice takes on a wistful sort of tone. “I wish now I'd spent more time with him and listened to his stories.”

The Doctor kneels down and looks through the eyepiece. His face scrunches up in disapproval. “It's a bit rubbish. How many prisms has it got? Way too many.” Standing up he frowns at the telescope. “The magnification's gone right over the top. That's stupid kind of-“ He pauses, turning towards us. “Am I being rude?”

I nod, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yep.” Rose agrees. 

Looking back towards Sir Robert and the Queen the Doctor smiles awkwardly. “But it's pretty. It's very pretty.”

The Queen takes a step forward. “And the imagination of it should be applauded.”

“Mmm.” Rose murmurs. “Thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty. Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful? You could easily not be amused, or something?” The Queen just stares at her, all good humor gone from her face. “No?”

“This device surveys the infinite work of God. What could be finer?” The Queen states after a pause. “Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath, steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairytales.”

“Stars and magic.” The Doctor chimes in, smile more genuine now. “I like him more and more.”

“Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company.” Focusing on Rose, the Queen continues. “Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg.”

“That's Bavaria.” The Doctor murmurs from behind us, lowly, so the Queen can’t hear. Rose nods, it seems to mean something to her, but it doesn’t help me at all. 

The Queen turns to Sir Robert. “When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported.”

I can hear the Doctor shift from behind me. “So, what's this wolf, then?”

“It's just a story.” Sir Robert states.

“Then tell it.” The Doctor has a faint tone of exasperation in his voice. 

Sir Robert pauses, tilting his head slightly, before beginning. “It's said that-“

“Excuse me, sir. Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark.” One of Sir Robert’s butlers, at least that’s what I assume he is, interrupts. 

“Of course.” Sir Robert says with a smile, gesturing for us to step towards the door. “Yes, of course.”

“And then supper.” The Queen states. “And could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness.”

“It's not amusing, is it?” Rose asks. 

I sigh, almost soundlessly. Rose is going to get us kicked out of the manor if she keeps going at this rate. 

The Queen swings her head around to look at Rose, but ultimately decides to ignore her, which is probably for the best at this point. “Sir Robert, your wife must have left some clothes. See to it.” Walking towards the door, she continues. “We shall dine at seven, and talk some more of this wolf. After all, there is a full moon tonight.”

“So there is, Ma'am.” Sir Robert bows his head in recognition of the instructions.

The butler directs us to specific bedrooms, where we’re to rest until it’s time for dinner. They put me in a room opposite the Doctor, and Rose three doors down. 

I wait until I hear the footsteps recede down the hall, then slip out of my room and into the Doctor’s room. He looks unsurprised to see me, patting the bed next to where he’s sitting. 

Flopping down on the bed, I fling my arms out to cover as much room as possible. “Sir Robert seems shifty.”

“He did seem a bit nervous.” The Doctor agrees. “Though that could be because he’s entertaining the Queen.”

I hum non-committedly. Switching tracts mentally, my lips can’t help but quirk up in a smile. “Rose is going to get herself into trouble.”

“Oh, but it’s worth it though.” The Doctor comments with a smile of his own. 

“It would be funny if Rose can get her to say it.” I admit, amused, though it’s short lived. Sitting up, I focus on the Doctor. “Speaking of Rose.”

The Doctor looks unsurprised at the line of questioning. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to drop it?”

Studying him, I nod slowly. “You don’t have to explain anything. My earlier offer is still good, I’ll try and distract her if she tries to latch onto you again. I just, was under the impression that the two of you had a closer relationship, s’all.”

“In a different world perhaps.” He looks pensive. “I won’t deny that things seemed to be heading in that direction before, but my priorities changed along the way.”

Priorities meaning me. I purse my lips. The Doctor notices, reaching over and tapping me right between my eyes. “Stop that. Yes, you were a part of the reason, but not the only reason. What do I always tell you?”

“That you are the adult, who can make their own decisions.” I answer dutifully, raising an eyebrow. 

“There, and don’t go thinking that I shouldn’t be thinking of you when I make decisions. That comes as part and parcel when you are taking care of someone.” He scolds me, but in an exasperated way. 

“I understand that part Doctor. I’m not arguing against that.” I reply, frowning. “I just don’t want you to make yourself miserable as a way of trying to make me happy.”

The Doctor give me a look. “Do I look miserable?” 

I shake my head. He reaches out and touches the skin of my cheek. Awareness blooms, I’m still just a speck against the ocean of his mind but the feeling has become comforting rather than overwhelming over the years.

“Do I feel miserable?” He asks me. 

“No.” I reply after carefully studying his emotions. 

Pulling his hand back, the Doctor raises an eyebrow as if to say ‘There!’.

“Okay, Okay. I get it, you can stop with the look now.” I tell him, thoroughly embarrassed with the conversation. 

He raises his other eyebrow, then waggles them, making the most ridiculous face that I’ve seen to date. I break, laughter washing away the embarrassment. Which was probably his plan in the first place. 

“Now c’mon, there’s 10 minutes until dinner is supposed to start and it’s not a good idea to keep the Queen waiting.” The Doctor states, getting up. 

I bounce up, trailing behind him. “Don’t forget to put that Scottish accent back on. Wouldn’t want to break the ruse.” 

“Ahh.” The Doctor responds, Scottish once again. “Wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we.”

“You’re crazy good at that.” I scrunch my nose up. “If I had never met you before, I never would have known the difference.”

He shrugs. “Speech patterns are easy to replicate, and I’ve been Scottish before.”

It takes less than a minute to reach the dining area, a butler showing us to our seats. The Queen and the head guard, who’s name I still don’t know, are seated on one side of the table. Sir Robert is across from her, with the Doctor on his left, and me on the Doctor’s left. 

The tall, bald, butler that spoke up earlier comes into the room with a tumbler of dark alcohol. “Your companion begs an apology, Doctor. Her clothing has somewhat delayed her.”

“Oh, that's all right.” The Doctor states, a slight smile curving his lips. “Save her a wee bit of ham.”

“The feral child could probably eat it raw.” The Queen says, humor in her own voice. 

Her guard laughs, far harder than the situation calls for. “Very wise, Ma'am. Very witty.”

The Queen turns to look at him, raising an eyebrow. “Slightly witty, perhaps. I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited. I shall contain my wit in case I do you further injury.” 

I stifle a laugh. That was savage. 

“Yes, Ma'am.” The guard murmurs, lowering his head. “Sorry, Ma'am.”

“Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert. Come, sir. You promised us a tale of nightmares.” The Doctor says, focusing on Sir Robert. 

“Indeed. Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction.” The Queen explains, eyes going distant.

The Doctor notices. “You must miss him.”

She turns to look at the Doctor. “Very much.” She states, pausing. “Oh, completely. And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it?” Her eyes travel to mine. “Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the hope of some contact with the great beyond.” She looks off into the distance again. “We all want some message from that place. It's the Creator's greatest mystery that we're allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent, and we must wait.”

There’s a second of silence before the Queen shakes herself out of her thoughts. “Come. Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters.”

Sir Robert leans in. “The story goes back three hundred years. Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found ripped apart and devoured.”

“Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves.” The guard, the Queen’s captain, states. “Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that.”

“But sometimes a child goes missing.” Sir Robert continues. “Once in a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead.”

“Are there descriptions of the creature?” The Doctor asks.

“Oh, yes, Doctor. Drawings and woodcarvings.” Sir Robert responds. “And it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal.”

I lean forward to see him better. “A werewolf.”

Sir Robert nods. “My father didn't treat it as a story. He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, to have learned its purpose.” He turns his head to watch as the butler walks to the window, then turns back to us. “I should have listened. His work was hindered. He made enemies. There's a monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations.”

“Perhaps they thought his work ungodly.” The Queen hypothesizes. 

“That's what I thought. But now I wonder. What if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet?” Sir Robert asks. There is sweat on his forehead. “What if they turned from God and worshipped the wolf?”

Very quietly the butler, who I was beginning to think wasn’t really a butler after all, starts to chant. “Lupus magnua est, lupus fortis est, lupus Dues est.” 

I just manage to resist the urge to turn and look as my mind translates what’s being said. ‘The wolf is great, the wolf is strong, the wolf is God.’

The Doctor does look, but only briefly. He has a serious look on his face. “And what if they were with us right now?”

The Captain stands up immediately, pulling out his gun and pointing it at the chanting ex-butler. The rest of us follow suit. 

“What is the meaning of this?” The Queen demands. 

“Explain yourself, Sir Robert!” The Captain orders. 

Sir Robert looks at the Queen. “I'm sorry, Your Majesty, they've got my wife.”

The Doctor takes a step forward, closer to the chanting man. “Where’s Rose?”

There is no response as the man continues to chant. The Doctor clenches his jaw. “Willa stay here.” He looks at Sir Robert. “Sir Robert, come on!” And they take off down the hallway. 

Now it’s just the Queen, her guard, me, and a creepy chanting ex-butler in the room. I maneuver my way around the table, making sure I don’t pass in front of the Captain’s gun, which is still trained on the man in front of us. 

“Tell me, sir. I demand to know your intention!” The Captain orders, once I’ve gotten to their side of the table, as he advances on the man.

“Lupus Deus est.” The man chants. “Lupus Deus est.”

The Captain steps even closer. “What is it that you want?”

The man stops chanting and turns around. “The throne.” Then he proceeds to disarm the Captain and smack him across the face, making him fall to the floor in a heap. 

I take a small step in front of the Queen, readying myself for an altercation. I might not be able to stop him, but the Queen must be kept protected. She wasn’t supposed to die here. 

The sound of a wolf howling fills the room. 

“I take it, sir, that you halted my train to bring me here?” The Queen asks, all quiet dignity and poise behind my back. 

“We have waited so long for one of your journeys to coincide with the moon.” The man states. 

“Then you have waited in vain.” The Queen responds, pulling a small gun from her purse and stepping out from around me. “After six attempts on my life, I am hardly unprepared.”

The man notes what I do, the fact that her hands are shaking violently, and smiles. “Oh, I don't think so, woman.”

“The correct form of address is Your Majesty.” The Queen scolds, and in the next second the gun is going off. 

Falling to the floor, the man has an almost comical look of surprise on his face. “You actually shot me!”

“Yeah, fear is always a good motivator.” I tell him, picking up the heavy crystal tumbler from the table and smashing it over his head. He falls to the floor heavily, unconscious. 

“Come, child.” The Queen instructs. “I must retrieve something from the strongroom.”

I nod, falling into step behind her as we make our way to get whatever it is she needs. She enters a room that has a large cage with documents and the like inside. The box that we had noticed the guards moving earlier is in it. I look away respectfully as the Queen opens it and takes whatever is inside. 

The Queen turns around and touches me briefly to get my attention. There is a look of approval on her face, but also one of urgency. 

“Your Majesty?” Sir Robert’s voice comes from out in the hallway. “Your Majesty!”

“Willa!” The Doctor’s voice calls out, urgent. 

The Queen and I rush out into the hallway and make our way downstairs, where the voices are coming from. 

“Doctor!” I exclaim, making him spin around. He pulls me into a brief hug, relief evident in how tight he’s holding me. 

“Thank god you’re all right.” He murmurs. 

I nod, biting my lip. The Doctor smoothes a hand down my hair, I get the sense of ‘be right back’ and he takes off down the corridor.

“Sir Robert? What's happening?” The Queen asks. “I heard such terrible noises.”

“Your Majesty, we've got to get out.” Sir Robert insists. “But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?”

“Captain Reynolds disposed of him.” The Queen responds, nothing but sincerity in her tone. 

The Doctor returns, not looking happy. “The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut.” He gestures towards the area he just came from, voice turning wry. “Pardon me, Your Majesty. You'll have to leg it out of a window.”

The Queen raises her chin, before purposely walking in the direction that the Doctor was gesturing in. 

It ends up being a small drawing room. Sir Robert speeds up, getting in front of the Queen. “Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress.”

“A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh.” The Queen nods. 

“Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?” The Doctor urges, dropping his Scottish accent. 

Sir Robert opens the window and immediately ducks, as people from outside shoot at him. Leaning forward carefully for a better look, I can see that there are monks lining the property with guns. 

The Doctor leans forward to look as well. “I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside.”

The Queen makes a noise of frustration. “Do they know who I am?”

“Yeah, that's why they want you.” Rose states. “The wolf's lined you up for a, a biting.”

“Stop this talk.” The Queen insists. “There can't be an actual wolf-”

A bang shakes the house, the howl of a wolf interrupting the rest of the Queens sentence. The Doctor takes off into the corridor, the rest of us right behind him, and stops at the sight of a door being broken into from the other side. 

“What do we do?” Rose demands. 

“We run.” The Doctor says, almost like a question. 

Rose shakes her head. “Is that it?”

“You got any silver bullets?” The Doctor asks. 

“Not on me, no.” Rose responds. 

“There we are then, we run.” The Doctor turns to look at us. “Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog. Good for the health.” Nobody moves. “Come on!”

The Queen puts her hand in his, and everyone hurries up the stairs. 

It doesn’t take very long for the sound of the door breaking off it’s hinges to make its way to us. 

“Come on! Come on!” The Doctor demands. But it’s no use. The werewolf is gaining on us, it’s speed is incredible. 

It’s almost upon us when the Captain comes around the corner we are about to turn and takes a shot at the werewolf. The werewolf retreats, and I breathe a sigh of relief. 

“I'll take this position and hold it.” The Captain states, giving us an impatient look when no one moves. “You keep moving, for God's sake!” He frowns, looking at the Queen. “Your Majesty, I went to look for the property and it was taken. The chest was empty.”

“I have it. It's safe.” The Queen says, clutching her chest. 

“Then remove yourself, Ma'am.” The Captain states. “Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty's Protector.” His eyes flicker over to Sir Robert in distaste. “And you, Sir Robert, you're a traitor to the crown.”

“Bullets can't stop it!” The Doctor insists. 

“They'll buy you time.” The Captain exclaims, voice harsh. “Now run!”

I hear the others turn and rush off, but Rose pauses in front of me. Grabbing her arm, I yank her back a bit, but she hesitates before going into the library where everyone else is. 

Sir Robert fires his weapon, once, twice, three times, and then the wolf is upon him. It rips at his flesh, tearing pieces off as easily as a knife would go into butter. I can’t look away. 

A hand comes over my eyes, even as an arm winds around my waist and yanks me inside the room. There are sounds of heavy things moving, blocking a door most probably, but all I can focus on are the horrifying screams that are still coming from the Captain as the werewolf tears him apart. 

He was an awkward person, the Captain, and I hadn’t given him much thought. But now he was dead, and he’d given his life to protect us. I was infinitely grateful for the hand that was still over my eyes, it hid the tears. 

The Doctor, for he was the person holding on to me, pulled me further into his chest. I struggle to even out my breathing, biting the inside of my cheek to distract myself. 

“Wait a minute. Shush, shush, wait a minute.” The Doctor whispers. “It’s stopped.”

I pull back, subtly wiping at my eyes, and listen. It sounds as if the werewolf is sniffing at the door, then the footsteps recede.

“It's gone.” The Doctor confirms. 

“Is this the only door?” I ask in a whisper, as the footsteps circle the room from the outside. 

“Yes.” Sir Robert whispers back, then shakes his head in panic. “No!”

Sir Robert takes off, the Doctor on his heels and they quickly barricade the other door. 

The sound of the werewolf walking around the room, from one door to the other continues. 

“I don't understand.” Rose murmurs. “What's stopping it?”

“Something inside this room.” The Doctor’s face scrunches up in confusion. “What is it? Why can't it get in?”

“I'll tell you what, though.” Rose says, taking a step towards the Doctor. 

“What?” He asks, looking back at Rose. 

“Werewolf.” Rose states. 

“I know.” The Doctor smiles, face lighting up. “You all right?”

She nods. “I’m okay, yeah.”

“I'm sorry, Ma'am. It's all my fault.” Sir Roberts apologizes, rubbing a hand across his face. “I should have sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong. I thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?”

“Well.” The Doctor starts, drawing out the word. “They were bald, athletic. Your wife's away, I just thought you were happy.”

“I'll tell you what though, Ma'am, I bet you're not amused now.” Rose says, looking at the Queen intently. 

Oh Rose. 

“Do you think this funny?” The Queen demands. 

“No, Ma'am.” Rose murmurs, looking away. “I'm sorry.”

“What, exactly, I pray tell me, someone, please.” The Queen continues, face harsh. “What exactly is that creature?”

“You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's a more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform.” The Doctor explains. 

“And should I trust you, sir? You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?” The Queen demands. 

A look of realization crosses the Doctor’s face. “Oh right, sorry, that's-“

The Queen shakes her head. “I'll not have it. No, sir. Not you, not that thing, none of it. This is not my world.”

“Denying it’s real won’t stop it from trying to kill you, Your Majesty.” I murmur into the silence. “It’ll just make you an easier target.”

“And you, the girl with eyes to old for her youthful face. Where do you fit into all of this?” The Queen studies me. “Are you really even his daughter?”

“He’s not my birth father, no.” I respond. “But he takes care of me, and that matters more than a connection to an absent and unknown person.” 

The Doctor comes up behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. The Queen’s eyes flicker between the two of us, and some of the tension fades from her body. “It seems as though there was one actual truth tonight.”

Removing his hand from my shoulder, the Doctor starts to pace. There is a frown on his face as he tries to understand the situation. Something catches his attention, causing him to look more closely at the door. “Mistletoe.” He murmurs. “Sir Robert, did you father put that there?”

Sir Robert looks up wearily. “I don't know. I suppose.” 

“There’s one on the other door as well.” I point at the door over Sir Robert’s shoulder. 

The Doctor looks contemplative. “No, a carving wouldn't be enough. I wonder.” He jumps up on the desk barricading the door, and then proceeds to lick the door. 

“Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe. It's been worked into the wood like a varnish.” The Doctor jumps down, looking triumphant. “How clever was your dad? I love him.” Focusing on us, he explains. “Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins.”

“And the wolf's allergic to it?” Rose asks, catching on. 

“Well, it thinks it is. The monkey monk monks need a way of controlling the wolf, maybe they trained it to react against certain things.” The Doctor hypothesizes. 

“Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, Doctor, and we still don't possess an actual weapon.” Sir Robert interjects, frustrated. 

“Yes we do.” I insist, my intuition sparking. Why go through the trouble of working the oil of the mistletoe into the wood? “You said earlier, that your father knew about the wolf, believed in it. He even worked the one deterrent that would cause the wolf to back off into the walls of this library. Why would he do that?” Sir Robert looks lost, and so does Rose and the Queen. “One reason. There must be something in this library that’s important.”

“Exactly!” The Doctor agrees, going to stand beside a set of bookshelves. “Well done Willa.” He looks over to Sir Robert. “You want weapons? We're in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world. This room's the greatest arsenal we could have.” Picking up a couple of books, he throws them to Rose who just barely manages to catch them. “Arm yourself.”

Then the room becomes a flurry of activity. Even the Queen starts picking through the books. 

“Biology, zoology. There might be something on wolves in here.” Rose murmurs, opening up the book in her hand. 

“A book on magic.” The Doctor says, flipping through the large tome in front of him. 

Sir Robert frowns down at the novel in his lap. “Some form of explosive..” 

I reach up and pull down a book about mistletoe. Flipping through the pages, it becomes evident that this was the book we were looking for. “Look, here.” I murmur, hopping down from my perch on the desk. “Sir Roberts, your father was a very intelligent man.” 

Setting the book down on the table, everyone leans in to see what’s on the page as well. It’s a picture of something falling from the sky dated to over three hundred years previous. 

“Look what your old dad found.” The Doctor breathes. “Something fell to Earth.”

“A spaceship?” Rose asks.

“A shooting star.” Sir Robert states, leaning in to read the passage. “In the year of our Lord 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit.” He pauses, thinking. “That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the monastery.”

“But that's over three hundred years ago.” Rose states. “What's it been waiting for?”

“Maybe just a single cell survived.” The Doctor replies. “Adapting slowly down the generations, it survived through the humans, host after host after host.”

“But why does it want the throne?” Sir Robert asks. 

“That's what it wants.” Rose states. “It said so. The, the Empire of the Wolf.”

“Imagine it. The Victorian Age accelerated. Starships and missiles fueled by coal and driven by steam, leaving history devastated in its wake.” The Doctor murmurs, eyes going distant. 

“Sir Robert.” The Queen’s voice breaks the silence, startling me. “If I am to die here.”

Sir Robert shakes his head. “Don't say that, Your Majesty.”

“I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me.” The Queen continues. “But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself.”

“Hardly the time to worry about your valuables.” The Doctor says in disbelief. 

The Queen raises an eyebrow, standing up from the chair she had been sitting in and taking a step towards us. “Thank you for your opinion, but there is nothing more valuable than this.” She puts a hand into her purse and pulls out the biggest diamond I’ve ever seen before in my life. 

“Your Majesty.” Sir Robert breathes out, staring at the diamond. 

“Is that the Koh-I-Noor?” Rose asks, taking a step towards it. 

“Oh, yes. The greatest diamond in the world.” The Doctor states.

“Given to me as the spoils of war.” The Queen explains. “Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die.”

“Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough.” The Doctor comments. Pulling out a pair of glasses and placing them on, he gestures towards the diamond. “Can I?”

The Queen studies him, before stretching out her hand and placing the diamond in his. “That is so beautiful.” He breathes out. “Look Willa, really look at it.” 

I lean in, awed by the sight. Each cut on the diamond tells its own story. I can trace its history, and it is beautiful indeed. 

“How much is that worth?” Rose asks, leaning in to see it better. 

“They say the wages of the entire planet for a whole week.” The Doctor states. 

“Good job my mum's not here.” Rose murmurs. “She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing.”

The Doctor smiles, just slightly. “And she'd win.”

“Where is the wolf?” Sir Robert asks, looking around uneasily. “I don't trust this silence.” He walks off to the other side of the room to check the barricade. 

“Why do you travel with it?” The Doctor asks the Queen, nodding his head at the diamond. 

“My annual pilgrimage.” She explains. “I'm taking it to Helier and Carew, the Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting.”

“Oh, but it's perfect.” Rose states, looking confused. 

“My late husband never thought so.” The Queen responds. 

“Now, there's a fact.” The Doctor nods, looking at the two of us. “Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting.”

The Queen smiles, a bittersweet expression on her face. “He always said the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished.”

“Unfinished. Oh, yes.” The Doctor throws the stone back to the Queen. “There's a lot of unfinished business in this house.” He gestures to Sir Robert. “His father's research, and your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond.” 

Shaking his head, the Doctor continues. “Hold on, hold on. All these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected.” He smacks at his head. “Oh, my head, my head. What if this house, it's a trap for you. Is that right, Ma'am?”

“Obviously.” The Queen responds. 

“At least, that's what the wolf intended. But, what if there's a trap inside the trap?” The Doctor asks, expression intense. 

The Queen frowns, not understanding. “Explain yourself, Doctor.” 

“What if his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories.” The Doctor tells her. “They dared to imagine all this was true, and they planned against it, laying the real trap not for you but for the wolf.”

Dust trickles down from above, and we all look up. There is a glass dome overhead, and the clink on the werewolf’s nails are loud as it walks across. 

“That wolf there.” The Doctor continues. The glass in the dome starts to crack. “Out! Out Now!”

We all lunge for the barricaded door, frantically pulling the items away so we can leave. The dome gives out just as we pull the last piece away and successfully open the door. 

The Doctor closes the door on the wolf. “Get to the observatory!” 

And then it’s all sort of a blur of running. The sounds of the wolf breaking down the door is not what I wanted to hear, but it’s what happens none the less. The wolf gains on us, I can almost feels it’s breath on our necks. And then a crew of women come around the corner and throw a pan of hot water behind us. 

The wolf howls, and I turn to watch as it cringes back, retreating down the hallway. 

“Good shot.” The Doctor compliments them. 

“It was mistletoe.” One of the woman states. Huh, they boiled up mistletoe and threw it on the wolf. Resourceful. I like it. 

To the side, Sir Robert, and someone I’m going to assume is his wife, kiss. “Now, get back downstairs.” 

“Keep yourself safe.” The woman responds. 

Sir Robert nods. “Now go.”

“Girls, come with me.” The woman orders, the others following her. “Down the back stairs, back to the kitchens. Quickly!”

“Come on!” The Doctor insists.

“The observatory's this way.” Sir Robert gestures down the hallway, and we are off again. Up the stairs, till we are at the very top. The Observatory is still where we left it, overpowered telescope and all. 

“No mistletoe in these doors because your father wanted the wolf to get inside.” The Doctor says. “I just need time. Is there any way of barricading this?”

Sir Robert pauses just outside of the door. “Just do your work and I'll defend it.”

“If we could bind them shut with rope or something.” The Doctor continues. 

“I said I'd find you time, Sir.” Sir Robert states, stubborn and very Scottish. “Now get inside.”

The Doctor studies him. “Good man.” Then turns around and faces the Queen. “Your Majesty, the diamond.”

I watch as Sir Robert closes the door, feeling absolutely wretched, but I’m pulled back into the moment with the Queens startled exclamation. “For what purpose?”

“The purpose it was designed for.” The Doctor tells her. 

The Queen frowns, but hands the diamond over anyways. “Rose, Willa, over here.” The Doctor instructs, going to a wheel on the side of the telescope. “Lift it. Come on.”

“Is this the right time for stargazing?” Rose asks, muscles straining. 

“Yes it is.” The Doctor confirms. 

Sir Roberts screams, and I close my eyes, even as I struggle to pull the wheel even harder. 

Opening my eyes, I see the upset look on Rose’s face as she turns her head to look towards the door where the screams are still coming from. “You said this thing doesn't work.”

“It doesn't work as a telescope because that's not what it is.” The Doctor explains, frustrated. “It's a light chamber. It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We've just got to power it up.”

“It won't work. There's no electricity.” Rose exclaims. The Doctor makes a frustrated noise from beside me. “Oh, Moonlight. But the wolf needs moonlight. It's made by moonlight.”

“You're seventy percent water but you can still drown.” The Doctor replies, snarky. “Come on! Come on!”

And then, finally, we manage to move the telescope enough for it to refract the light it needs to. The whole observatory lights up as a concentrated beam of moonlight comes out of the bottom of the contraption and hits the floor. 

The wolf breaks the door in, growling and snarling, and heads straight for the Queen. The Doctor lunges, flinging the diamond across the floor. It lands perfectly in the concentrated moonlight, reflecting the light onto the wolf. 

As if by magic, the wolf is lifted off its feet and the image of the wolf falls away to reveal the shape of a humanoid. “Make it brighter.” It says, plaintive. “Let me go.”

Reaching over to adjust the magnification on the eyepiece, the Doctor does as asked. The light intensifies and the shape of a wolf returns, howling, before it vanishes altogether. 

I sigh in relief, bending over and picking the diamond back up. The Doctor takes it from me and goes to hand it back to the Queen, but he pauses. “Your Majesty? Did it bite you?”

“No, it's, it's a cut, that's all.” The Queen responds, shaken. 

“If that thing bit you-“ The Doctor continues. 

“It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart.” The Queen interrupts him. “It's nothing.”

The Doctor looks unconvinced. “Let me see.”

The Queen looks up finally, her face stern. “It is nothing.” 

He raises his hands, nodding his understanding. Giving the Queen back the diamond, he retreats to my side and puts a hand on my shoulder. 

I lean into the hand, the adrenaline starting to recede and leaving me worn out. 

“You’re shaking.” The Doctor murmurs, hand coming up to touch my forehead. 

“Adrenaline crash.” I respond wrapping my arms around myself to try and conserve some heat. His mental presence presses against mine, shoring me up, before retreating once more. 

He pushes lightly against my shoulder to get me moving. “C’mon, let’s find you somewhere to rest.” 

I sort of want to protest, but there really isn’t any reason to do so. The wolf has been taken care of, and I’m sure that the Doctor will make short work of the rest of the wolf monks with the help of the household staff. 

Getting through the doorway is rough, blood is everywhere, and the sight of Sir Robert’s mangled body will be imprinted into my memory for a long time to come. The Doctor doesn’t try to shield me from it, for which I’m grateful, though he does hurry his steps once we are past the body. 

He leads me back to the room that had been originally given to him when we first arrived, helping me climb under the covers, and smoothing my hair back. 

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to go to sleep.” I whisper, wide awake now that my head has hit the pillow. 

“I know.” The Doctor murmurs, shifting so that his hand is touching my cheek. 

Then, there is only darkness. 

xxxx

I blink awake to the light of a new day shining in through the windows, and the Doctor sleeping in a chair to my left. 

Trying to be as quiet as possible, I sit up and swing my legs over the side of the bed. I must not be quiet enough, because the Doctor jerks in his seat, eyes immediately jumping to my location on the bed. 

He relaxes, hand coming up to rub at his chest. “Willa.”

I nod, rubbing at the sleep crusted in the corner of my eyes. “Morning. Sorry for waking you up, I was trying to be quiet.”

“S’alright.” The Doctor responds, stifling a yawn. He rummages around in his pockets, coming up with a bottle of water and a pair of toothbrushes. 

I gladly accept mine, and after brushing my teeth I’m feeling far more awake and aware for the day to come. 

“Let’s grab Rose as well.” The Doctor murmurs. “Her Majesty said she wanted to see us first thing in the morning.”

Rose’s door opens a few seconds after our knock, and there is no hint of sleepiness on her face. “Ready then?”

The Doctor nods, and we make our way down into the dining room area where we’re served breakfast. 

Afterwards, the household congregates in the library and the Doctor, Rose and I are asked to kneel in front of the Queen.

The Queen is holding a sword, and she takes a breath to steady herself. “By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Sir Doctor of Tardis.” She states, bringing the sword gently down on one shoulder, then the other. “By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Rose of the Powell Estate.” This time the sword comes down on either side of Rose’s shoulders. “By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Willa of Tardis.” She gently taps both of my shoulders with the sword as well, then brings herself back to the center. “You may stand.”

“Many thanks, Ma'am.” The Doctor says, bowing his head slightly. 

I bow my head as well. “Thank you, your Majesty.”

“Thanks.” Rose smiles. “They're never going to believe this back home.”

“Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving no message from the great beyond.” The Doctor states, voice soft. “I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now, Ma'am, from beyond the grave.”

“Indeed. Then you may think on this also.” The Queen pauses, face solid and untouchable. “That I am not amused.”

Rose turns towards the Doctor. “Yes!”

The Queen stares at Rose until she stops smiling. “Not remotely amused. And henceforth I banish you.”

There is a pause. “I'm sorry?” The Doctor asks faintly.

“I have rewarded you, Sir Doctor, and now you are exiled from this empire, never to return.” The Queen states. “I don't know what you are, the three of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars and magic and think it fun.” Her tone turns derisive, and harsh. “But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death, and I will not allow it. You will leave these shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you came to stray so far from all that is good, and how much longer you may survive this terrible life. Now leave my world, and never return.”

The three of us bow, and then we leave. What else could we have done? And honestly, I don’t really blame her for exiling us. 

As we walk down the path, we manage to convince a local farmer who’s pulling a cart with hay in it to let us ride down the path a bit. 

The Doctor and Rose are chatting about one thing or another, but my own thoughts are on other things, so I don’t follow it very closely. “You know, I’m not even a British citizen. Can the Queen really banish me if I wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place?”

Barking out a laugh, the Doctor smiles wryly. “I’m not a British citizen either, but somehow I don’t think it really matters to her.”

I hum, tuning them out once more. The Tardis comes into view and I thank the cart driver as we hop off. 

“No, but the funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood. It's historical record. She was hemophiliac.” The Doctor states. “They used to call it the Royal Disease. But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it, her dad didn't have it. It came from nowhere.”

“What, and you're saying that's a wolf bite?” Rose asks. 

He shrugs. “Well, maybe hemophilia is just a Victorian euphemism.”

My face scrunches up in disbelief. “For werewolf?”

“Could be.” The Doctor waggles his eyebrows. 

Rose shakes her head. “Queen Victoria's a werewolf?”

“Could be.” He says again. “And her children had the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip.”

“So, the Royal Family are werewolves?” Rose asks, looking like she’s actually considering it. 

“Well.” The Doctor replies, dragging out the word. “Maybe not yet. I mean, a single wolf cell could take a hundred years to mature. Might be ready by, oh, early 21st century?”

“Nah, that's just ridiculous!” Rose exclaims, before pausing and looking over at the Doctor. “Mind you, Princess Anne.”

He raises his hands. “I'll say no more.”

“And if you think about it, they're very private. They plan everything in advance. They could schedule themselves around the moon. We'd never know. And they like hunting!” Rose keeps hypothesizing, getting into the theory.

I unlock the Tardis, swinging the doors open and walking through. 

“They love blood sports.” Rose continues. “Oh my God, they're werewolves!”

The Doctor throws his head back in full amusement, laughter flowing through the room. Rose is laughing as well. The room is so full of positive energy that I can’t help by smile in response, even though the theory is rather ridiculous. 

But eventually the energy wanes. Rose yawns, once, twice, three times. “I suppose I should probably go take a shower and a nap.” 

We murmur our goodnights, and Rose walks down the corridor.

And then it was just the Doctor and I in the console room. He smiles over at me, a hint of excitement on his face. “So where to now?” 

I hum, thinking about it. There was this one place that I’d been looking forward to visiting ever since I heard about it… “I’ll put the coordinates in, but you can’t peek!”

“Cross my hearts.” The Doctor promises, doing the motions with his fingers on either side of chest. 

The coordinates I put in were to a stellar region called the Vahiden Horizon. It was a vast area of space known for it’s stunning interstellar lightning storms. Once we ‘landed’, though it’s more like I anchored her to one spot so she wouldn’t drift, I helped the Doctor extend the air shell so we could sit at the doors to the Tardis and enjoy the show. 

Lightning arced through the stars, sometimes hitting a planet and sometimes just petering off into nothing. It was beautiful, and it was sad. Tears rise up as I think about everything that’s happened. 

Bowing my head, I allow myself to cry properly for the brave men who died. Sir Robert, the Captain, and the others who were just collateral damage in the mad rush for power. The Doctor is kind enough to keep his eyes fixed out into the stellar region, but his shoulder brushing against mine brings a sense of solidarity to the moment. 

After my tears dry up, and I clean my face up a bit, the Doctor pulls a tray with two cups of tea out of nowhere. I lean back, giving the space behind him a strange look, then at the cups of tea sitting innocently on the tray. 

The Doctor smirks. “I got skills.”

A book appears next to my hand. The Tardis is meddling again, but in a good way. She knows this is one surefire way to get us to settle down. I pick the book up, already knowing what it’s going to be and brandish it in front of the Doctor with a smirk of my own. The Doctor sends a comically betrayed look to the ceiling. “You’re giving away all my secrets!”

The Tardis warbles, lights flickering as if in laughter.

And so we sit there, sipping our tea and getting lost in the adventures of Anne McCaffrey and her Dragonriders of Pern series while the storm rages on around us.


	6. The reunion at the school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m super sorry for the long wait for this chapter guys!
> 
> I just looked at the date of the last time I’ve updated this and it’s been a solid 3 weeks. Ouch. 
> 
> I’ve been alternating between this fic and my other fic, a chapter from one fic before I post a chapter of the other, but school has also started to heat up. I had a 20 page research paper due last week and to be honest it took me several days before I felt the urge to even look at anything else. 
> 
> But now I’m back, and here’s an update!
> 
> -RainingCoffee

We go on a few more adventures, one involving green slime that still causes the Doctor to bust out in laughter and Rose to flush bright pink when mentioned, when Rose gets a call.

Rose walks a few steps away and answers her phone. “Hello?”

Turning to the Doctor to give Rose her privacy, I wiggle my eyebrows at him. 

Reaching out to tap me between the eyebrows, he laughs. “Your Delphon needs work.”

“For a humanoid who’s eyebrows are three times smaller than the Delphon race has, I think I do pretty well.” I respond, pouting. 

“Needs more expression.” The Doctor shrugs, then proceeds to make his own eyebrows do the wave. 

I gape at him. “One, I can’t believe you just said that. Two, that movement shouldn’t have been possible!”

He smirks, looking smug. “Skills.” 

Rose hangs up, coming over to us with a frown. 

“What’s wrong?” I ask immediately, studying her expression. 

“Mickey just called. He said that there’s these strange things happening at a school.” Rose informs us. 

The Doctor’s eyes furrow. “What do you mean strange things?” 

She shrugs. “Something about a new Headmaster coming in and three months later the children’s test grades are skyrocketing.” Pausing, Rose bites her lip. “And some of them are getting sick.”

I scowl, and a look at the Doctor shows that he isn’t pleased either. 

“What’s the name of the school?” The Doctor asks her. 

“Deffery Vale High School.” Rose replies. 

He inputs coordinates, a frown of concentration on his face. “It’s not all that far from where you live.” His eyes flicker up to Rose’s. “You mind if we park the Tardis there while we check out the school?”

“Course not.” Rose tilts her head to the side. “Though it’s probably best you stay out of mum’s view while we’re here. She’s still not happy about what happened..”

The Doctor grimaces, but nods in agreement. My eyes flicker between the two of them. What did Rose mean what happened?

The Tardis takes off in flight so I grab onto the railing behind me casually to keep from falling. “How are we gonna to do this then?”

“I’m thinking a little bit of old fashioned reconnaissance.” The Doctor responds, pulling his psychic paper out and waving it back and forth. 

I hum. “So you two are going to get faculty positions and I’m going to go in as a student?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go in as a student if the students are getting sick. We have no idea why or how at this point.”

Swallowing my urge to argue, I try and think about it logically. I really want to go, but he Doctor isn’t wrong. “Yes, that’s probably a smart idea.” 

We land, with Rose changing into something more professional than her jeans and t-shirt combo, and they head off to gather information. 

Which leaves me in the Tardis, by myself. 

It’s stupid, but I’m already feeling a little lonely. The Tardis beeps, drawing my attention, then flashes her lights along the baseboard in an attempt to have me follow them. She leads me to the library, the one spot that generally makes me feel better no matter the occasion. 

I grab a random mystery novel and sit down, but not a whole lot of actual reading happens. A whole lot of self-inspection on the other hand, does. 

Living with the Doctor was pretty cool, and undoubtedly a privilege. He doesn’t so much treat me as a child, in the way of overprotecting parental supervision, but as a person. Someone who was intelligent, who had their own ideas. I have no doubt that if I had pushed the issue the Doctor would have found another way for me to come into the school. 

The problem was that he was right. It wouldn’t be smart for me to go in as a student, especially with students getting sick. 

And, well, I suppose the other problem was that I was so used to being with the Doctor that him going off with his companion without me made me feel..down. 

Shaking my head sharply, I try and remove that thought from my head. Here I was, having a pity party over nothing. Him going off with his companion without me didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to do things with me anymore.

The last five years had skewed my perspective, sometimes I felt like the 15 year old I looked like, rather than the 22 year old I really was. I frown, thinking about the hormonal changes in human teenagers and wondering in they apply to Gallifreyan teenagers as well. 

In any case, I made a mental note to not be as demanding of the Doctor’s time in the future. I was far to old to be as clingy as I’d been acting. 

Sometime later, must have been hours, the Doctor’s voice jerks me out of an uneasy sleep. 

“Hey, hey.” The Doctor murmurs, running a hand across my hair. “It’s okay, you’re in the Tardis library.”

I blink, mind trying to hold on to images of abandoned railway stations and mob bosses. He makes a comforting noise, brushing away the remnants of my dream with hardly any effort at all. 

“That was a rough one.” The Doctor states. His concern is like a bucket of salt on a cut. 

Pulling away from the touch of his hand, I curl into a ball, not able to bring myself to say anything. He studies me for a few seconds before standing up and pulling his suit jacket off. He rolls his sleeves up, picking up the book that must have slipped off my lap while I was sleeping. Sitting down next to me, but not touching me, he starts to read. 

Around 20 minutes into it, I’m able to relax enough to uncurl from my position. After 40 minutes, I feel safe enough to lean against his shoulder. The Doctor doesn’t pause in his reading, though he does lean his head against mine for a brief second. Long enough for me to get a sense of his encouragement, and his willingness to help. 

It calms the part of me that my dream had knocked back into the place, the one that was so unsure of her own place in the world that she felt safer staying away from it. 

By the time he was finished with the book, I still wasn’t able to bring myself to speak, but I wasn’t as tense as I was when I first woke up. 

The Doctor doesn’t push the issue, which I’m grateful for in a vague, distant sort of way. Instead, he keeps up a steady stream of chatter, bustling me off to the kitchen for a late meal and then directing me down the hallway towards his room. 

It’s not a place I see very often, though to be honest it’s not a place the Doctor goes to very often either. 

He tucks me into his bed, taking a seat in an armchair next to it, starting up the epic of Omega. It’s a long story that can take days to recite, and it’s also incredibly boring to listen to. As he no doubt intended, it isn’t long before I’m trying not to yawn. 

I make a noise of frustration. Sleeping isn’t something that I want to do right now, especially after the dream I had earlier. The Doctor raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t stop. My eyelids get heavier, my blinks slower, and it gets harder to fight the pull. 

Hesitant, I reach out and touch the Doctor’s hand. Sharing my reasons for not wanting to sleep. 

He latches on, a comforting presence blanketing my mind. His intention is clear, with him monitoring me like this he can stop nightmares before they even form. 

My body relaxes. I feel so grateful that tears rise to my eyes. The Doctor shushes me, his voice lowering as he starts up a lullaby. I feel a vague sense of outrage at the speed it works, but that’s smothered under the feeling of safety being blanketed like this brings. 

I’m asleep in minutes. 

xxxx

My first thought when I wake up the next morning is ‘so much for not being as clingy as I had been’. The Doctor makes a sharp noise of disapproval, making me aware of the fact he’s still blanketing my thoughts. I flush in embarrassment. 

“You should be embarrassed.” The Doctor states, still sounding faintly outraged. “Where did that thought come from?” 

“Ah.” It sounds like I’ve been gargling jacks, so I cough to clear my throat. “Self-introspection?”

He studies me, picking up far more than I should probably be letting him, but I can’t bring myself to pull away from the comfort he’s providing just yet. A furrow forms on his forehead. “I knew we should have waited to bring a full time companion on board.”

I shake my head. “It’s not Rose’s fault.” 

“Not directly, no.” The Doctor murmurs. “But you haven’t had a nightmare like that in years.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with her.” I repeat. It’s a struggle to get the words out. “I just..we’ve been very secluded here. It’s been the two of us against the world.” 

I mean, yeah, we’ve taken on a companion or two but not for very long. Rose, on the other hand, is important. 

“If this has something to do with you feeling as though I’m going to stop paying attention to you now that we have a companion on board, I want you to stop right there.” He states. 

Frowning, I look down at the blankets instead of his face. “I’m not going to lie and say that’s not a part of it. But Doctor, I’m not actually 15 even though I might look like it. I’m old enough that I shouldn’t be monopolizing your time the way I have been.” I shake my head. “The nightmare was just a product of an irrational fear.”

The Doctor reaches over and smacks his knuckle against my forehead. “You need to stop thinking by human standards. Gallifreyans are still considered children until they turn a century old.” He scolds. “And what is that even supposed to mean? ‘Old enough that you shouldn’t be monopolizing my time the way you have been’.” 

Directing a sharp look to me, he cuts me off when I try to open my mouth to respond. “Not that it would matter how old you are anyways. You can’t monopolize my time when it’s freely given.”

Huh. 

“Huh is right.” The Doctor responds, voice still irritated. “Silly girl.” 

I clear my throat awkwardly, fighting the blush that’s wanting to rise. Knowing the Doctor cares for me is one thing, hearing it re-enforced is quite another. 

“I would express it more often, but you always get embarrassed when I do.” He states. The hum of his irritated emotions is starting to quiet down into something more like I’m used to. 

“It is embarrassing.” I mutter, throwing an arm over my face to hide its redness. 

The Doctor laughs. He does one last mental survey, then pulls his hand back. 

Deeming it safe to look at him, I peek out from under my arm. He’s not looking at me, instead he’s pretending to inspect the wall to give me some privacy.

I sit up, straightening out my clothes and running a hand through my hair. “So what did you guys find out yesterday?”

“For one thing, we both found ourselves a job.” The Doctor says, glancing over before turning to face me properly. “One of the teachers will find themselves the recipient of a winning lottery ticket a week back or so and I’ll be filling his position.”

“That’s cheating.” I scold, biting back a smile. 

His lips quirk up in response. “On the other hand, Rose got herself a job with the lunch crew.”

I can’t help but think that’s unfair. “Isn’t that a little mean?”

“Not when there was an intake of people in both the teachers and the lunch crew three months ago.” The Doctor explains. “Best to keep an eye on both sides.” 

“Touché.” I acknowledge. “You’ll have to let me know what happens.”

And he does. Each day he comes back to the Tardis, eyes bright, and tells me about his day. I knew from his reaction to teaching me, but this is a good reminder at how much the Doctor loves to share his knowledge. At least to people who actually pay attention. 

It isn’t until the third day that anything changes though. When the Doctor comes home from school this time, he has a sort of jittery energy around him and his face is weird.

“What happened to you?” I ask, confused. 

“I met an old companion today.” The Doctor murmurs, he still has that soppy look on his face. 

Interested now, I turn away from the stove where I’d been making dinner. “Who?”

He lips quirk up into a smile, eyes finally focusing on me. “Sarah Jane Smith.” 

“No way!” I beam. “Sarah Jane Sm-“ Light bursts from behind my eyes, the stars spin and my perception of the world opens up. Sarah Jane, Luke, the children that will grown up defending the world. So very important, and all of it stemming from one person. 

Slowly, bit by bit, I reel myself in. Drawing my consciousness back into my body, anchoring it to reality. Hearing is the first thing I get back, and with it comes the sound of the Doctor singing a Gallifreyan nursery rhyme. 

I swallow, trying to wet my dry throat and wince at the taste of blood. “I’m..good.”

He continues, not pausing the song, but I get a burst of his disapproval. Shifting minutely, I understand his reaction. The Doctor has me cradled against his chest, arms overtop of mine to keep me from scratching at my face, which tends to happen when I get a particularly strong flash. 

So instead of protesting anymore, I lean back into the embrace and relax. My Gallifreyan still isn’t up to speakable standards, I can say words but when it comes to putting it all together and conjugating everything it turns to mush, but I can understand most of what he’s saying. And the things that I don’t’ understand keep me busy as I try to figure out the root word and translate from there. 

I’m not sure how long I sit there parsing nouns, but at some point my heartsrate evens out and my mind is drawn away from what I’ve seen. 

The Doctor clears his throat. “That was stronger than usual.” His voice sounds strange and flat, and it takes me a second to realize it’s because he’s switched back to English. 

“There was a lot of information this time.” My lips tilt up into a sad smile. “Sarah Jane is incredibly important.” 

I can feel his burning curiosity, but he doesn’t ask about it, which is for the best. 

“Do you think you’re able to move?” The Doctor asks, voice careful. 

“Of course I can move.” I reply, annoyance making my body stiffen. It’s stubborn determination that gets me to my feet. “See?”

He sends me a stern look. 

I wave off his concern. Already I’m feeling better, and god forbid I mess up my chance to meet Sarah Jane Smith. 

“Food.” The Doctor states, getting up and pushing me towards the table. “Something high in carbs, give you back the energy you just expended. You’re going to need it if you want to help us check out what’s going on in the school.”

“We’re going tonight then?” I ask, letting him direct me. He always gets a little overprotective after I get a flash, and it was just easier to let him fuss then it was to argue. 

Humming, he nods. “Yeah, we’ve done all we can the unobtrusive way, it’s time to go behind the scenes.” There’s a pause. “And I have a feeling that Sarah Jane is going to be there tonight to investigate as well.”

“She is.” I murmur. That is something that stands out in a very distinct way in my memory. 

His hands tighten on my back and he makes sure I’m seated before going to salvage the food on the stovetop. 

xxxx

“Oh, it's weird seeing school at night.” Rose comments as we exit the storage area the Doctor has parked us in. “It just feels wrong. When I was a kid, I used to think all the teachers slept in school.”

“All right, team.” The Doctor starts, then grimaces. “Oh, I hate people who say team. Er, gang. Er, comrades.” I shake my head at him and he frowns. “Anyway, Rose, go to the kitchen. Get a sample of that oil. Mickey, the new staff are all Maths teachers. Go and check out the Maths department. Willa and I are going to look in Finch's office. Be back here in ten minutes.”

He heads up the stairs, and I hurry after him. The Doctor has just indicated that we are getting close when a strange noise echoes down the corridor. Ducking into a classroom, I pull the Doctor along with me, and we listen as the sound of..something flapping reverberates down the corridor, hurried footsteps echoing right after. 

The noise dies down, and the Doctor and I peek out. Nothing is there. I point down the hallway and mouth ‘Tardis’. The Doctor frowns at me. ‘Sarah Jane?’ he mouths back. I nod. 

Down the same flight of stairs we go, and into the storage area. Sarah Jane is backing out of the closet that the Tardis is parked in, staring at the door in shock. 

The Doctor steps forward, waiting for her to turn around and I step farther into the shadow at his back. This is a reunion for the two of them. 

Sarah turns around slowly, not even jumping at the sight of the Doctor standing there. “Hello Sarah Jane.” He greets Sarah, voice soft. 

“It's you.” She breathes. “Oh, Doctor Oh, my God, it's you, isn't it. You've regenerated.”

“Yeah. Half a dozen times since we last met.” He tells her. I don’t have to be looking at him to know that there’s probably a goofy smile on his face. 

“You look incredible.” Sarah states. 

The Doctor replies, entirely sincere. “So do you.”

Sarah laughs bitterly. “Huh. I got old.” She takes a few steps to the right and the Doctor turns to follow her. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, UFO sighting, school gets record results. I couldn't resist.” He leans forward. “What about you?”

“The same.” Sarah laughs, but then her face crumples. “I thought you'd died. I waited for you and you didn't come back, and I thought you must have died.”

“I lived.” The Doctor states, solemn. “Everyone else died. Well, almost everyone.”

“What do you mean?” She sounds confused. 

He steps aside, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Everyone else is dead, besides the two of us. Sarah, meet Willa. My adopted daughter.” 

I wave, feeling kind of awkward. “It’s very nice to meet you, Sarah Jane Smith.”

Sarah doesn’t quite know what to make of that, and in the end it seems she chooses to ignore it. “I can't believe it's you.”

Someone screams, high pitched and gratingly loud from somewhere else in the school. 

“Okay, now I can!” She exclaims, and they exchange a smile before we all run off in the direction of the scream. 

The sound of rapid footsteps approach and Rose comes out of a side hallway directly in front of us, whirling to face us as she hears our footsteps in return. “Did you hear that?” She directs to the Doctor before focusing on Sarah Jane. “Who's she?”

“Rose, Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane, Rose.” The Doctor gestures between the two of them. 

Sarah Janes smiles a saccharine smile. “Hiii. Nice to meet you.” She looks at the Doctor. “You can tell you're getting older. Your assistants are getting younger.”

Rose’s eyes narrow in dislike. “I'm not his assistant.”

“No?” Sarah raises an eyebrow. “Get you, tiger.”

Woah, how did we get to here? I flick my eyes between the two of them, incredibly confused. The Doctor rubs a hand across the back of his head, grabs my arm and sort of gestures in the direction that the scream came from before taking off, pulling me with him. 

Several hallways later, we round a corner to find Mickey scrambling to pick up what looks to be vacuum packed rats from off the floor. 

Mickey sees us and flushes. “Sorry! Sorry, it was only me. You told me to investigate, so I started looking through some of these cupboards and all of these fell on me.”

“Oh, my God, they're rats.” Rose looks down at the rats, disgusted. “Dozens of rats. Vacuum packed rats.”

“And you decided to scream.” The Doctor asks, incredulous, leaning down to look at the rats himself.

“It took me by surprise!” Mickey says, taken aback. 

The Doctor looks up from his investigation. “Like a little girl?”

I clear my throat. The Doctor has enough decency to look abashed, Mickey just looks confused. Turning to Mickey, I pat him on the arm. “Don’t worry, your scream was very appropriate for a man, and for being covered in rats.”

“Er, thanks.” Mickey says, still looks confused. 

“Hello, can we focus?” Rose’s voice cuts in. “Does anyone notice anything strange about this? Rats in school?”

“Well, obviously they use them in Biology lessons. They dissect them.” Sarah Jane murmurs, raising an eyebrow. “Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you?”

Rose narrows her eyes. “Excuse me, no one dissects rats in school anymore. They haven't done that for years. Where are you from, the dark ages?”

“I’d like to interrupt this regularly scheduled pissing contest with a comment.” I interrupt before the two of them can keep going. “The rats might be used for dissection, but we found them in a closet in the Maths department. If they really were used in Biology lessons, then wouldn’t they be closer to the Science department?”

“Good question.” The Doctor murmurs, looking contemplative. “Everything started when Mister Finch arrived. I think it’s time to go check what’s in his office.”

And there we go, back up the stairs, heading in the direction of the headmaster’s office once again. 

I can tell the moment everything boils over for Rose, not only because of the energy that surrounds her, but by the way her body stiffens. 

“I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who exactly are you?” Rose asks Sarah Jane. 

“Sarah Jane Smith.” Sarah responds, glancing over her shoulder at the Doctor. “I used to travel with the Doctor.”

“Oh. Well, he's never mentioned you.” Rose states. 

“Oh, I must've done.” The Doctor chimes in. “Sarah Jane. Mention her all the time.”

“Hold on.” Rose pauses. “Sorry. Never.” Going for the jugular, ouch. 

“What, not even once? He didn't mention me even once?” Sarah asks, sounding hurt. 

The Doctor slows his footsteps, and the two women continue down the hall. Mickey laughs. “Ho, ho, mate. The missus and the ex. Welcome to every man's worst nightmare.”

“It’s not like that.” The Doctor states, frowning. It’s clear that Mickey doesn’t believe him. 

“Now’s not the time for this.” I mutter, nodding down the hallway. “Let’s get out of the school before the bickering attracts the attention of whatever it is we are here to look for.”

By the time we reach Mr. Finch’s office, Rose and Sarah are waiting for us. They each send a scowl in our direction, unnoticing or uncaring that it makes them look alike. 

The Doctor pushes his way through, using the sonic and unlocking the door. He steps into the office, then stops, staring at the ceiling. “Maybe those rats were food.” 

“Food for what?” Rose asks, lowering her voice like the Doctor had. 

“You know you used to think all the teachers slept in the school?” The Doctor asks, stepping aside so the rest of us can file in. “Well, they do.”

I follow his gaze to the ceiling and have to stop myself from screaming at the sight of human sized bat like creatures hanging there. 

“No way!” Mickey exclaims, turning on his heel and running. 

The Doctor bustles us out, locking the door behind us, and we follow after Mickey at a more reasonable pace.

Mickey stops right outside of the school. “I am not going back in there. No way.”

“Those were teachers.” Rose breaths out in disbelief. 

“When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse. Thirteen. Thirteen big bat people.” The Doctor turns on his heels to go back into the school. “Come on.”

“Come on?” Mickey scoffs. “You've got to be kidding!”

“I need the Tardis. I've got to analyze that oil from the kitchen.” The Doctor explains. 

“I might be able to help you there.” Sarah states, grabbing onto the Doctor’s arm. “I've got something to show you.” 

She takes us over to her car and opens her trunk. The Doctor reaches in, pulling a blanket off of whatever is inside. His face lights up. “K9! Willa, look, it’s K9!”

“No way!” I breath, coming up beside the Doctor and looking at the metal dog. 

The Doctor looks back at his companions. “Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, allow me to introduce K9. Well, K9 Mark Three to be precise.”

“Why does he look so..disco?” Rose asks. 

“Oi! Listen, in the year five thousand, this was cutting edge.” The Doctor scolds, before turning to Sarah Jane. “What's happened to him?”

“Oh, one day, he just, nothing.” Sarah explains. 

“Well, didn't you try and get him repaired?” The Doctor frowns at her. 

“Well, it's not like getting parts for a Mini Metro.” Sarah responds. “Besides, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone.”

The Doctor reaches into the trunk and starts petting K9. “Ooh, what's the nasty lady done to you, eh?”

“Look, no offence, but could you two just stop petting for a minute?” Rose calls out. “Never mind the tin dog. We're busy.”

“Right, let’s go somewhere that I can repair K9.” The Doctor shuts the truck, still smiling. “Do you mind Sarah Jane?” 

“Of course not.” Sarah gestures for people to get into the car. “I know a diner not far from here that won’t mind so long as you buy something.” 

It’s a tight fit, with five of us. The Doctor is up front with Sarah and I’m squished in between Rose and Mickey. By the time we get to the diner I’m almost vibrating from the tension that’s arcing through the air. 

The Doctor grabs K9 from the trunk, and we head inside. Sarah sits down next to him and I stay back with Rose and Mickey. Rose, who has a pissed off look on her face, orders a container of French fries at the counter. 

Mickey nudges her, a smile on his own face. “You see, what's impressive is that it's been nearly an hour since we met her and I still haven't said I told you so.”

“I'm not listening to this.” Rose snaps. 

“Although, I have prepared a little I was right dance that I can show you later.” Mickey continues, undeterred. 

The waitress returns, handing over the French fries and Rose pays her. Turning to a table and sitting down, Rose seems determined to not rise to the bait as Mickey and I follow suit. 

“All this time you've been giving it, ‘he's different’.” Mickey leans in over the table. “When the truth is, he's just like any other bloke.”

“You don't know what you're talking about.” Rose mutters, shoving a chip into her mouth. 

Mickey sits back, smug satisfaction in his expression. “Maybe not. But if I were you I'd go easy on the chips.” 

Okay, enough is enough. “And just what is that supposed to mean?” 

His eyes flicker to mine, an expression on his face like he’s forgotten I was there. “What?”

“Rose can eat as many ‘chips’ as she wants to.” I scold him. “With the amount of running we do, it’s incredibly unlikely she would gain any weight like you seem to be suggesting.”

“Look, I didn’t mean it that way.” Mickey defends himself, raising his hands like a shield. 

I raise in eyebrow in disbelief. “In what way did you mean it then?” He doesn’t respond, looking down at the table. “Petty jealousy doesn’t look good on anybody Mickey Smith, you are not an exception to that.”

“Willa.” Rose breathes, looking at me like she’s seeing me for the first time. 

I lean back, unconcerned and steal a French fry off of her. “Look Mickey, I think you’re a genuinely nice guy when it comes down to it. But I don’t like it when the people that I’m close with are put down in any way.”

The table falls silent, which makes it incredibly easy for me to hear the conversation that Sarah and the Doctor are having at my back. To give them privacy, I focus on Rose and start a conversation up about the red grass on the last planet we visited. 

“Oh hey. Now we’re in business.” The Doctor exclaims, exactly 15 minutes and 23 seconds later. Thank God. You can only make so much small talk and I was running out of topics. 

The three of us glance over, and I note that K9 has been revived. 

“Master.” K9 says. 

The Doctor beams, looking over his shoulder and searching until he finds me. “He recognizes me.” 

I smile at him indulgently. “Of course he does.” Stepping forward, I scritch K9 behind an ear. “K9’s a good dog, isn’t he.”

K9’s tail starts wagging and his ears swivel forwards in response.

“Rose, give us the oil.” The Doctor states, reaching out a hand. Rose digs through her pockets and hands him the sample.

“I wouldn't touch it, though.” Rose cautions. “That dinner lady got all scorched.”

“I'm no dinner lady.” The Doctor replies, before seeming to realize just what it was that he said. “And I don't often say that.” Reaching into the sample container, he smears some of the oil onto the probe on the front of K9’s face. “Here we go. Come on, boy. Here we go.”

“Oil. Ex ex ex extract. Ana ana analysing.” K9 stutters his way through. 

Mickey laughs. “Listen to him, man. That's a voice.”

Sarah directs a sharp look in his direction. “Careful. That's my dog.”

“Confirmation of analysis.” K9 states. “Substance is Krillitane Oil.”

A look of realization blooms across the Doctor’s face. “They're Krillitanes.”

“Is that bad?” Rose asks. 

“Very.” The Doctor states, realization fading into seriousness. “Think of how bad things could possibly be, and add another suitcase full of bad.”

Sarah looks at him. “And what are Krillitanes?”

“They're a composite race. Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of countries, people you've invaded or have been invaded by.” The Doctor explains, running his hand through his hair. “You've got bits of Viking, bits of France, bits of whatever. The Krillitanes are the same. An amalgam of the races they've conquered. But they take physical aspects as well. They cherry pick the best bits from the people they destroy.”

He frowns, a look or chagrin on his face. “That's why I didn't recognize them. The last time I saw Krillitanes, they looked just like us except they had really long necks.”

Rose shakes her head, looking confused. “What're they doing here?”

“It has to do with the children somehow.” I speak up. “Otherwise why would they choose a school to infiltrate.” My eyes flicker to the Doctor. “Even you said that some of the children were showing knowledge of things they shouldn’t know. What if it has to do with the oil somehow. And it doesn’t agree with everyone, that’s why some of them were getting sick.”

“I have a horrible feeling you’re right.” The Doctor murmurs, frown deepening. 

“Well, no use sitting around here anymore.” Sarah states, nodding decisively. “You’re all welcome to stay the night at my house, we can make a move tomorrow.” 

I murmur my thanks, and Mickey offers to help carry K9 to the car. While Sarah and Mickey are busy, Rose turns to the Doctor with an intense look on her face. 

“What?” He asks, taken aback. 

She shakes her head, walking towards the door. The Doctor and I follow.

“No, that’s something. I’ve been living with a teenage girl for over five years now, I know what something looks like.” The Doctor states. 

Rose whirls around right outside of the door. “How many of us have there been travelling with you?” 

His brow furrows. “Does it matter?”

“Yeah, it does, if I'm just the latest in a long line.” Rose states, looking increasingly upset. 

There is a pause. “As opposed to what?” 

“I thought you and me were.” She hesitates, looking down at the ground. “I obviously got it wrong. I've been to the year five billion, right, but this? Now this is really seeing the future. You just leave us behind. Is that what you're going to do to me?” 

The Doctor looks at her, really looks. “Everything has a time and place Rose, and everything ends.”

“So that’s it? You just drop us off one day and never come back?” Rose hisses. 

“It’s easier that way.” He murmurs. 

“On who? You?” Rose shakes her head, mouth trembling. “You already tried to do it to me once. Telling me I needed to spend time with mum. That was my send off wasn’t it?”

The Doctor takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. When he speaks, his voice is soft but unapologetic. “Yes.”

“Wait, what?” I blurt out, bewildered. “What are you talking about?”

Rose studies me, taking in my expression. “So you didn’t know.”

Placing a hand on top of my head, the Doctor cuts in. “No, she didn’t know, it was my decision.”

“Ever since she showed up you’ve been different.” She tells him. 

“My priorities changed.” He responds, a hint of annoyance coloring his tone. 

I bite my lip, wanting to intervene but knowing that this is something that they need to figure out for themselves.

Rose looks down. “I just..was there ever a chance?” 

“In another world, maybe.” The Doctor tells her. “You could have spent the rest of your life with me, but I couldn’t have spent the rest of mine with you. That’s not something that would have been fair to either of us.” He pauses, voice softening. “Willa and I, we don’t age. Not in a way that would be recognizable to you. A hundred years is just a blip.” 

“That’s why you dropped Sarah off before that could happen.” Rose says in realization. “And why you tried to do the same to me.”

He nods. “When I drop you off, you stay in the one second of time from my perspective. There’s always a chance I could go back and pick off where I left off. But if you see that person age and falter.” The Doctor shakes his head sharply. “That’s the consequence of being Gallifreyan while surrounded by humans.”

A horrible screeching noise drowns out anyone’s response and we all turn to look at the top of the building next to the cafe. A man is standing there and next to him is one of the Krillitanes we saw in the principals office. The Krillitane swoops down towards us, but the Doctor pulls both Rose and I away from it’s grasping claws. 

It doesn’t come back for a second swipe, flying off instead. A glance back at the building shows that the man is gone as well. 

“Was that a Krillitane?” Sarah asks, running over from her car. Mickey hot on her heels.

“But it didn't even touch anyone. It just flew off. What did it do that for?” Rose states, confused. 

My stomach drops. “It was here to hurt anyone, it was here to gather information.” 

The Doctor purses his lips, bustling me over to Sarah’s car. “Probably best to go to your place Sarah Jane.” His eyes flicker to Sarah’s. “If the offer is still open.”

Sarah looks insulted. “Of course it is.”

xxxx

The next morning, bright and early as no one wanted to stay in the house with the tension that had been building, we head out for the school. It’s easy to slip in, as the children are just arriving for the day as well. 

“Rose and Sarah, you go to the Maths room. Crack open those computers, I need to see the hardware inside.” The Doctor states, pulling out his screwdriver and handing it to Sarah even though Rose is reaching out for it. Ouch. “Here, you might need this.”

He looks at Mickey. “Mickey, surveillance. I want you outside.”

Mickey gives him a dirty look. “Just stand outside?”

We start to walk towards the school, but Sarah turns around and throws Mickey her keys. “Here, take these, you can keep K9 company.”

“Don't forget to leave the window open a crack.” The Doctor raises his voice to be heard. 

“But he's metal!” Mickey calls back. 

The Doctor raises an eyebrow and leans over towards me. “I didn't mean for him.”

I cover my mouth to hide my smile, but there’s no hiding the laughter in my eyes.

Rose interrupts. “What're you going to do?”

“It’s time we had a chat with Mr. Finch.” The Doctor states. 

We split off from the girls, and the Doctor winds through the children expertly. Stopping at the top of the staircase, he looks down at a man who I remember seeing on the building from last night. 

Finch, at least I’m assuming that’s Finch, pauses. He looks up at us, before spinning on his heels and walking off with a purpose. 

“C’mon.” The Doctor murmurs, placing a hand on my shoulder and directing me down a back stairway. He leads us to a swimming pool, the smell of harsh chemicals giving it away before we even open the door. 

Finch is inside, waiting for us. 

“Who are you?” The Doctor asks, careful to keep his body between Finch’s and mine. 

“My name is Brother Lassa.” Finch says, straightening from his lean against the wall. “And you?”

“The Doctor.” The Doctor replies. “Since when did Krillitanes have wings?”

Finch starts walking towards us. His tone is conversational. It’s clear that he feels as though he has nothing to hide. “It's been our form for nearly ten generations now. Our ancestors invaded Bessan. The people there had some rather lovely wings. They made a million widows in one day. Just imagine.”

“And now you're human shaped.” The Doctor states. 

“A personal favorite, that's all.” Finch corrects, still smiling genially. 

I’m not going to lie, it’s starting to freak me out. 

The Doctor tilts his head. “And the others?”

“My brothers remain bat form. What you see is a simple morphic illusion. Scratch the surface and the true Krillitane lies beneath.” Finch explains, studying our reactions. “And what of the Gallifreyans, the Time Lords? I always thought of you as such a pompous race. Ancient, dusty senators, so frightened of change and chaos. And of course, they're all but extinct. Only the two of you. The last.”

Finch’s eyes land on me, greedy. 

“This plan of yours. What is it?” The Doctor interrupts, shifting so that his body hides more of my own from Finch’s view. 

“You don't know.” Finch states, realization crossing his face. He crosses the last few steps to come face to face with the Doctor.

The Doctor stares at him. “That's why I'm asking.”

Finch smiles. “Well, show me how clever you are. Work it out.”

“If I don't like it, then it will stop.” The Doctor warns Finch, voice hard. 

“Fascinating.” Finch breathes, studying the Doctor closely. “Your people were peaceful to the point of indolence. You seem to be something new. Would you declare war on us, Doctor?”

“You don’t push the Doctor when it comes to children.” I tell Finch, stepping out from the Doctor’s shadow to stand beside him. “He has a very low tolerance for it. And so, for that matter, do I.”

“That was your one warning.” The Doctor continues. 

I can see the effect our combined words have on Finch. His eyes dart between the two of us before he straightens his back and firms his chin. “But we're not even enemies. Soon you will embrace us. The next time we meet, you will join with me. I promise you.”

Half remembered laser fire and haunting screams serve as a counter point to his argument, so I ignore his words. The Doctor has no such reassurance, so he watches with solemn eyes as Finch walks off. 

I wait till Finch is down the hallway, far enough that I can no longer hear his footsteps, before I turn to the Doctor. “Time to go help Rose and Sarah.”

The Doctor nods, and off we go, towards the Maths department. 

I can hear the laughter long before we get to the correct classroom. 

‘I’m like, do you two want to be alone?” Rose says, laughing. 

Sarah joins in, and the two of them cackle together. 

Not seeming to notice, the Doctor enters the room. “How’s it going?” 

Rose points at the Doctor, and it just sets to two of them off even more. 

“What?” The Doctor asks, before shaking his head. “Listen, I need to find out what's programed inside these.”

I have to hide a smile behind my hand when it only serves to make them laugh harder. 

“What? Stop it!” The Doctor demands, frustration evident. I can’t help but think that he liked it better when they weren’t getting along. 

A noise echoes through the hall, then an announcement, one that calls for the students to come back inside. 

“He’s moving his plans up.” I look at the ceiling, pursing my lips in disapproval. 

The Doctor nods, disappearing under the table and coming back with a box covered with wires. 

The noise in the hall gets louder, and the door opens. Rose hurries over, turning the children away and directing them to another hall. 

“I can't shift it.” The Doctor states, running his screwdriver over the components. 

“Deadlock seal?” I ask, looking over the box myself. 

He nods. “There's got to be something inside here. What're they teaching those kids?” Bending over to check on something, he misses all the screens in the computer lab turning green. 

There’s a green cube, and it’s cycling through some type of code. 

“You wanted the program?” Sarah asks. “There it is.”

The Doctor pops up, eyebrows furrowing as he takes in the screens. “Some sort of code.” He studies it, his eyes widening as he comes to some kind of realization. “No. No, that can't be.”

A chill runs down my spine as I take in the dismay on his face. “What?” 

“The Skasis Paradigm.” The Doctor explains, looking down at me. “They're trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm.” 

Trying to remember where I’ve heard about that before, I frown. “Wasn’t that the universal theory thing? The…the building blocks of the universe or something like that?”

He nods. “It’s the God maker. Crack that program and bam. Time and space and matter, yours to control.”

“What, and the kids are like a giant computer?” Rose asks. 

“Yes.” The Doctor replies, working it all out. “And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil. That oil from the kitchens, it works as a, as a conducting agent. Makes the kids cleverer.”

“But that oil's on the chips.” Rose states. “I've been eating them.”

“What's fifty nine times thirty five?” The Doctor asks her sharply. 

Rose answers immediately. “Two thousand and sixty five.” She inhales, apprehension on her face. “Oh, my God.”

“But why use children?” Sarah asks, confused. “Can’t they use adults?”

The Doctor shakes his head. “No, it's got to be children. The God maker needs imagination to crack it. They're not just using the children's brains to break the code, they're using their souls.”

Mr. Finch enters the room. “Let the lesson begin. Think of it, Doctor. With the Paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it.”

“Oh yeah?” The Doctor scoffs. “The whole of creation with the face of Mister Finch? Call me old fashioned, but I like things as they are.”

“You act like such a radical, and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order?” Mr. Finch asks, he takes a step closer to the Doctor. “Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good.”

The Doctor looks at Finch. “What, by someone like you?” 

When he responds, Mr. Finches voice is soft. Persuasive. “No, someone like you. The Paradigm gives us power, but you could give us wisdom. Become a God at my side. Imagine what you could do. Think of the civilizations you could save. Perganon, Assinta. Your own people, Doctor, standing tall. The Time Lords reborn.” 

A cold sweat breaks out across my back. The chance to save his own people is something that the Doctor would be hard pressed to pass up. “Doctor, you know there’s always a catch.” 

Finch’s eyes flicker to mine. “And you, you could spearhead the program. A Gallifreyan child, your imagination could take us to greater heights.” I narrow my eyes at him. His head turns in Sarah and Rose’s direction. “And you could be with him throughout eternity. Young, fresh, never wither, never age, never die.” Finch turns his attention back to the Doctor. “Their lives are so fleeting. So many goodbyes. How lonely you must be, Doctor. Join us.”

“I could save everyone.” The Doctor murmurs. 

“Yes.” Finch breathes. 

Stepping closer to the Doctor I reach out and grab his hand. “Doctor, no.”

The Doctor continues, as if in a fog. “I could stop the war.” 

Using everything that’s he’s ever taught me, I grab onto the edges of his mind and yank it so that he’s pulled against mine. Pressing my pain, anger, fear. Reminding him that past experiences are a part of life. It was horrible what had happened, but it still had to happen. 

At that moment Sarah speaks, voice clipped. “No. The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world, or a relationship, everything has its time. And everything ends.”

Shaking his head, the Doctor’s expression goes cold. He snarls, picking up and chair and throwing it into the biggest monitor. “Out!” 

We clear the room quickly, leaving Finch behind. His sour expression promises that we will be seeing him soon though. Down the stairs we go, only to run into Mickey and a child. 

“What is going on?” Mickey asks, breathing hard. 

There are Krillitanes screeching in the distance, a distance that is rapidly closing in. 

“Giant bat aliens, trying to kill us.” I explain, taking a step back as several Krillitanes come around the corner. 

“Run!” The Doctor orders, yanking on the shoulder of my jacket to get me to move. 

We run to the cafeteria, and I place a chair under the door knob to attempt to buy us some time. The other exits seem to be locked, but before the Doctor can pull out his screwdriver to open them, Finch busts through the door, the chair I placed not even a small deterrent. 

Well, at least I tried. 

Several Krillitanes fly into the room as well, the high ceilings allowing them to use their wings to gain the higher ground.

“Are they my teachers?” The boy that came with Mickey asks. 

“Yeah.” The Doctor replies. “Sorry.”

“We need the Doctor alive. And the girl.” Finch states. Pompous as ever. “As for the others? You can feast.”

The Krillitanes swoop down and I duck for cover, noticing the others doing the same. Grabbing a chair, I take post beside the boy thrusting it at any Krillitane that comes to close. 

Suddenly, as laser beam comes out of nowhere and shoots one of the Krillitanes straight out of the air. Finch screeches, piercing and loud. 

“K9!” Sarah exclaims. 

“Suggest you engage running mode, mistress.” K9 replies, determination in his voice.

“Come on!” The Doctor urges. “K9, hold them back!” 

“Affirmative, master. Maximum defense mode.” K9 states, providing cover fire. We manage to make our way across the cafeteria and back through the doors we originally came through in the first place. 

Running down the hallway, the Doctor darts into another room off to the right, using his sonic to lock the door once everyone has gotten into the room. Wherever we are now, it looks like some sort of lab. 

The Doctor leans against the table, looking at the ceiling. His eyes flicker as he tries to figure out what to do next. 

I clap my hands, getting everyone’s attention. “Okay, so what do we know?” 

“What do you mean?” Sarah asks me. 

“We know that we are dealing with Krillitanes, we know that the Krillitanes are using the children to crack the God program.” I lay out. “We know they are increasing the children’s intelligence through oil.”

Rose looks confused. “I’m sorry, don’t mean to be rude, but what does this have to do with anything?” 

I ignore her. “What I don’t get is why don’t they use their own children?” Looking over at the Doctor, I find his staring at me in thought. “Unless they are unable to for some reason.” 

Realization bursts across the Doctor’s face. “Oh! You are brilliant Willa!” He leans over, gesturing with his hand. “It's the oil. Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil. That's it! They've changed their physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them.” Turning away from me, he looks at Rose. “How much was there in the kitchens?”

“Barrels of it.” Rose replies. 

The door creaks as something slams into it. Clearly the Krillitanes have found us. 

“Okay, we need to get to the kitchens. Mickey-“ The Doctor starts, but is cut off. 

“What now, hold the coats?” Mickey asks bitterly. 

“Get all the children unplugged and out of the school.” The Doctor orders, ignoring the sass. “Now then, bats, bats, bats. How do we fight bats?”

The boy, who’s still with us, shakes his head. He goes over and smashes the button for the fire alarm. 

Huh, loud noises and sensitive bat ears. Smart kid. 

We escape past the Krillitanes once again, and I’m not going to lie, this is starting to feel like a Scooby Doo episode. When it comes time to part ways, I head off with Mickey instead of the Doctor and the others. 

The Doctor shoots me a look and I shake my head. I’ll be more use helping Mickey then I will be just tagging along with them. 

“Alright, lets get these kids out of here.” I murmur, heading into the classroom to the right, while Mickey does the same on the left. 

It quickly becomes apparent that the children aren’t responding to any outward stimuli. For a brief second I wish I had the Doctor’s screwdriver so I could turn off the power to the monitors, before I smack myself in the head at the thought. 

I don’t need his screwdriver, I can just unplug the damn power cord. Which is what I do. The monitors turn off and the children look up in confusion. 

“Alright, may I have your attention please!” I raise my voice to be heard. “The school is evacuating, head toward the front of the building as quickly as possible.”

Nothing happens. 

“Now!” I bark, which gets them moving. 

Then it all becomes a blur of checking classrooms, and makings sure no one stays inside the building. I meet up with Mickey at the end of the third hallway. 

“I think that’s everyone.” He states, sounding confident. 

“Then it’s time to get out ourselves.” I murmur back, following him as he leads us back towards the exit. 

It’s not a moment to soon either. As soon as we clear the building, it explodes. The children go nuts, cheering as paper floats down on us. 

I spin around, hearts beating fast as I attempt to locate the Doctor. It would be just like him to blow himself up. 

A flash of brown catches my attention. There he is, near the back of the crowd, holding Sarah who looks as though she’s crying. 

My heartsrate slows down, and I turn to face the school to give them privacy. Closing my eyes gives me a flash, just a small one, of K9’s last stand. Of Finch calling K9 a bad dog, and K9 responding with a cheeky affirmative before everything goes up in flames. 

Finch was wrong, K9 was a very good dog. No wonder Sarah was upset. K9 had been with her for a very long time, had been her companion long after the Doctor had dropped her off. 

Maybe there was something we’d be able to repair in the wreckage? 

Sirens go off in the distance, someone finally cluing into the fact that the school had exploded and informed the proper authorities. Which also meant that it was a good idea to grab the Tardis and leave. Another glance towards the Doctor shows that Sarah is in no condition to drive, let alone remove herself from the scene. I nudge Mickey. 

“Why don’t you drive them back to Sarah house?” I prompt. 

I can see that Mickey doesn’t understand at first, but he pauses before anything can come out of his mouth. He glances back at Sarah, before turning to me and nodding. 

Looking at Rose, I jerk my head towards the building. “It’s probably a good idea to get back to the Tardis before the authorities get here.” 

She frowns. “What about the Doctor?” 

“He’s busy right now.” I respond, already heading for the building. 

There’s a pause, then Rose’s hurried footsteps as she catches up with me. 

“Yeah, I see what you mean.” She murmurs, content to follow me for the time being. 

I make a detour to the kitchens, it’s not hard to find, all I had to do was follow the area of destruction. 

There are bits of Krillitanes on the walls, but I ignore that as best I can, stepping over what I’m going to assume is Finch’s body and kneeling next to the remains of K9. He’s bent and scorched, but at least there’s something left. Removing my jacket, I wrap it around the metal casing and pick him up. 

“Can we go now?” Rose asks, sounding queasy.

“Yeah.” I murmur, trying my best to ignore the smell. 

It doesn’t take long for us to get to the Tardis, and we are just in time too, I can hear loud voices echoing down the hallways. Once inside, I make my excuses to Rose and head down to the workshop. 

Sitting on the table waiting for me are three different books. One is a book on 51st century cybernetics, another is a book on omniflexible hyperlinks, and the third is an invaluable resource. It looks to be a handwritten journal on all the updates and repair work the Doctor has ever done on this version of K9, and well, all the others versions of K9 as well, which I only know because of the illustrations. It’s in Circular Gallifreyan, which makes it almost useless to me, but I’m sure I could pull the Doctor into the project.

I start reading the one on 51st century cybernetics. By the time I’m halfway through it, it becomes clear that this is a project that I’m definitely going to need the Doctor’s help with, or something I’m going to need more than one book on. 

It’s around that point, when I’m nearly tearing my hair out over the fact that there’s no pictures, even the Doctor’s journal had pictures, that my phone rings. 

I accept the call and bring it up to my ear. “Hello?”

‘Willa, are you in the Tardis?’ The Doctor asks. 

“Yep, thought it’d be a good idea to disappear before the authorities got here.” I explain, half of my attention still on the book in front of me. 

‘Good, Good.’ He murmurs. ‘We’ve tried getting back in but they have it pretty well guarded.’

A brief jolt of confusion runs through me. Even if they had the place locked down he still should have been able to get in. Unless.. “Psychic paper didn’t work?”

The Doctor grumbles. ‘No, the guy said he didn’t see anything at all. Do you know how little imagination you have to have for that to happen?’

“Did they kick you out?” I ask, biting back a smile. 

‘It’s not funny Willa.’ He scolds, but it’s a mild scold at best. 

Clearing my throat, I get to the reason he really called in the first place. “You want us to meet you somewhere?” 

‘Yeah.’ The Doctor murmurs. ‘There’s a park not far from where Sarah lives. Called ‘Belle Vue Park’. Think you can get the Tardis there?’

“Wait, you want me to fly the Tardis there?” I ask, alarmed. When I asked if he wanted us to meet him I figured we would just slip past the guards. 

There’s a pause. ‘Don’t be nervous, you’ve done it before.’ Muffled voices come over the connection, like he’s talking with someone else. ‘We should be back in that area soon. Give it a solid 20 minutes to make it easier on yourself.’

“Okay, I’ll see you there.” I say, mostly on auto pilot, and pull the phone away from my ear to hang up. 

‘Willa.’ The Doctor calls out, voice warm. 

I pause, bringing the phone back up to my ear. “Yeah.”

‘You can do this.’ He asserts, then hangs up before I can say anything. 

‘I can do this’ huh. I stare at the phone with a mixture of annoyance and apprehension. 

The Tardis burbles, flashing her lights at me. 

“I know, I know.” I grumble, getting up from the table and walking down the hallway towards the console room. 

She chimes, the tone distinctly scolding. 

Sighing, I drop the attitude. “Sorry..I’m just nervous.”

If anything, her tone of disapproval gets deeper. 

“I know, I’ve done this a hundred times.” I explain. “But every time the Doctor has been there to make sure I don’t mess up.” Pausing, I re-think my statement. “Well almost every time, but that was an emergency!”

A gust of wind blows down the hallway and pushes me into the console room that I’ve been hesitating outside of. 

“Okay Willa.” I say to myself, looking at my hands. “Stop being a baby about this.”

My hands follow through with the motions, it’s something that they’ve been well versed in. One quick moment to verify the coordinates and the time differential, another to make sure we won’t end up in Constantinople or something, and then we are off. 

The Tardis shakes, though not as much as when the Doctor drives, and I fling myself around the console. Adjusting this button, and tweaking that lever. 

Rose comes running out of the hallway. “Doctor, are we-“ But she cuts herself off when she sees that’s it’s me instead of the Doctor and alarm spreads over her face. “What are you doing?”

For some reason her obvious alarm in the face of me doing something that I wasn’t quite certain of doing in the first place makes me more confident. “Flying the Tardis.”

“Are you-Are you supposed to be doing that?” She asks, starting to look like she’s regretting following me onto the Tardis. 

I sigh. “Yes.” 

And then we land. 

The door opens immediately, and the Doctor’s beaming face pops into view. He rushes up the ramp and pulls me into a hug, twirling me around. “22 minutes on the dot! Great job Willa!” He sets me down and smiles at me. 

I can’t help but smile back, giddy at my success. “I did it!”

The Doctor’s smile softens. “Yes, you did.” His finger taps me on the nose. “I told you that you could.”

Rose clears her throat, the look on her face not pleasant at all. “Excuse me, is anyone allowed to drive the Tardis now?” 

“Of course not.” The Doctor responds, sending Rose a stern look. “Willa is allowed to do so because I’ve taught her how.”

“Taught her..” Rose trails off, looking at the ground. “You said five years earlier.”

“Huh?” I ask, but I already know what’s she’s talking about. 

“It might have been three months for me, but it was 5 years for you guys.” Rose clarifies, glancing up from under her lashes. 

I reach out, and hidden from sight by his coat, pinch the Doctor in the side. 

“Yes.” The Doctor answers, swaying away from my hand. “You didn’t really think that Willa could have grown that much is a short amount of time, did you?”

“No.” She admits. “I just didn’t want to think about it.” 

Feeling awkward, I take a step back. “So, I think the two of you need to talk a bit more.” 

The Doctor looks at Rose with an inscrutable expression. “Yes, I think we do as well.”

Before I leave though, I reach out and touch the Doctor’s arm to get his attention. “After you’re talk, if you have time, there’s a project I’m working on that I need some help with.” He nods, distracted. So I head towards the corridor. “Oh! And don’t move the Tardis just yet!”

“Willa.” The Doctor sends me a look. One that very clearly says, ‘you were the one who told us we needed to talk, so let us talk.’

“Yep! Bye!” I call out, hurrying down the corridor. 

Getting back to the workshop is easy, the Tardis must be in a good mood because she hadn’t changed any corridors around. By the time I get there, a sort of determination has filled me. I may not understand everything in the books I read, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do what I can. 

And I did read enough to understand how to try and salvage individual parts.

So, carefully and with more confidence the longer I work at it, I start to remove components from K9 and set them down on the mat next to me. 

I’m so absorbed in the work that I don’t hear the Doctor come in. In fact, it isn’t until he places a hand on my shoulder that I come out of the hyper-focused fog that I’ve spiraled down into. 

“K9 huh?” He asks me. 

I blink at him, before nodding. “Yeah, I couldn’t leave him there.” Biting my lip, I shake my head. “The intention was to fix him, but K9 took a lot of damage..”

The Doctor grabs a chair from the other table and sit down, giving me his full attention. “What do you have so far?”

“I’m still in the process of seeing what all I can salvage.” I explain, fondness rushing through me at his actions. He could see very clearly what I’d already done, but since I asked for his help and not for him to take over the project, he was letting me fumble through it myself. “The fact that his side panel was open when everything exploded didn’t help.” 

“But, so long as his primary data chip is okay-“ I murmur, picking up a pair of needle nose pliers and gently pulling said card from the opening I’d spent the last 20 minutes creating. It’s undamaged, perfect. “Then we should be able to re-build him and have him retain knowledge of Sarah Jane.”

“You’re planning on giving him back to Sarah then?” The Doctor asks. 

“Of course.” I reply, giving him a look. “This K9 was Sarah’s. It’s only right that she gets him back if we manage to repair him.”

His lips twitch in amusement. “You seem to have all this figured out, what did you need my help for?”

Gently placing the chip on the mat, I blow out an exasperated sigh. “The Tardis left me all the books I would need to fix him, but reading isn’t always enough. I don’t have the practical skills to know what half of the terms mean.” My face descends into sulk territory. “And none of them have pictures.” 

Perking up, I widen my eyes and give the Doctor my best ‘please, please’ face. “That’s where you come in! Plus you’ve fixed K9’s before.” 

The Doctor grumbles, putting his hand over my eyes and pushing me gently away. “Put those eyes away, you already knew I was going to help you.” 

I laugh at him, but stop my puppy dogs eyes nonetheless. “I know that, I just couldn’t resist.” 

His pretend grumpiness lasts all of 5 minutes before he’s back to his normal self. He even digs up several replacement parts for K9 from..somewhere, including a new frame. 

After everything was all said and done, and K9 sparkled while we were covered in grease, I was tired but satisfied. 

The Doctor takes K9 through a couple of basic exercises, but it seemed like everything was working properly and the primary data chip did its job. K9 remembers Sarah and is pleased to be going back to her. 

I hug the Doctor, giddy from the two success’s of the day. He laughs, returning the hug, before pushing me away with a theatrical sniff. “Go, take a shower. I’ll take K9 out to Sarah. She should be getting here soon anyways.” 

I raise an eyebrow. “I’m guessing that even if I hadn’t picked K9 up, you would have gone back for him anyways.” 

“You would most likely be right.” The Doctor admits without shame. 

Shaking my head at him fondly, I head off to take that shower. By the time I’m done, Sarah has been given K9 and somehow Mickey has joined us. 

I raise an eyebrow at the Doctor in response to that, but he just shrugs. 

Rose eventually excuses herself, as well as Mickey, and goes to take him on a tour. She seems pleased to see Mickey, which is a nice turn around from the grumpiness that she was showing him earlier. 

The Doctor excuses himself as well, citing the need of a shower of his own. 

xxxx

Several hours pass, and here I am, silently walking through the darkness towards the Doctor’s door. 

The door opens before I even properly get to it, and I peer into the darkness. The Tardis raises the lights, just enough for me to see the Doctor lying in bed. He doesn’t look like he’s having pleasant dreams. Which was what I had been afraid of. Feeling more certain of myself now, I climb into the armchair next to his bed. 

Getting myself situated, I reach over and gently place my hand on top of the wrist that’s made its way out of the covers. The Doctor’s face immediately calms. 

Nightmares. Not surprising. Finch had brought up a lot of memories of the Time War, giving the Doctor hope that he could bring everyone back. In fact, I was surprised that other than nightmares the Doctor hadn’t reacted quite as badly as I’d feared he would. 

I pull out the book I had brought with me, a huge book on 51st century medical practices. It’s a boring thing, guaranteed to put anyone to sleep. I’m hoping the bored feeling it gives me will translate over to the Doctor and keep him relaxed enough to properly rest.

Eventually, the events of the day start to catch up to me as well. My head bobs, up and down, and I try to fight the sleep it’s telling me to get. I remember when I could spend days awake but living here and following a semi reliable sleeping schedule has spoiled me. 

I’m asleep before I have a chance to realize it.


	7. France and ships, oh my

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, it's been so long since I've updated this story. I'm really sorry for the long wait! After the semester ended, I just didn't have the motivation to write anything after all the last minute studying and writing I did. 
> 
> But now I'm back, and I'm super motivated. I've already pre-written things here and there for the story in the future. 
> 
> This chapter was kind of difficult for me. I had some parts of it written weeks ago but I couldn't find a good way to connect the pieces together. But here we are now, you'll have to let me know how I did!
> 
> Also, this chapter is about 1/3 episode and the rest just floof, and angst. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -RainingCoffee

A presence taps along the borders of my mind. A gentle nudge, but insistent. Wake up. 

I open my eyes, blinking blearily up at the ceiling. A ceiling that I hadn’t been looking at when I went to sleep. 

The Doctor laughs. “Well I couldn’t very well let you sleep on the chair the way you were, your neck wouldn’t have thanked you in the morning.”

Turning in the direction of his voice, I take in the way he’s sitting on the edge of the bed. He’s already dressed, armor for the day on. 

“Did I help?” I can’t help but ask, voice rough with sleep. 

The Doctor’s face softens. “Yeah. You helped.” He ruffles my hair, hand still there from his wake-up call. “Thank you.”

Good, that’s good. I had hoped. 

“Alright! You’ve spent enough time sleeping. Breakfast is ready, so you’d better hurry or Rose and Mickey will eat it all!” The Doctor says, enthusiasm making me blink at him. 

“Morning person.” I grumble, shifting myself off the bed and becoming somewhat vertical. “No matter how many times I get a confirmation, it still surprises me every time.”

He laughs, placing a hand on my shoulder and directing me out of his room. I don’t have to look behind me to know that the door had disappeared immediately after we left. The Tardis doesn’t usually let other companions see it. “Don’t be cranky now. I made your favorite.” 

That gets me to perk up. “…French toast with vanilla and cinnamon?” 

“And I even picked up bananas. And strawberries.” The Doctor states, smile threatening the corner of his lips. 

And suddenly, just like that, I was awake. 

“Ahh, there we are.” He murmurs, not resisting when I grab his hand and speed up down the hallway. 

Bah, you can’t tease someone’s favorite food and then not expect them to be enthusiastic about it. 

xxxx

After food, I retreat back to my room for a change of clothes and a shower. Having completed that, I find myself in front of the mirror, frowning at my mostly dry hair.

Usually, I don’t fuss around with my hair. But every now and again I get the urge to do something with it. The issue being, I’m actually horrible at anything hair related. 

So, armed with my hair brush and a box full of rubber bands, I go in search of the Doctor. He’s in the console room, unsurprisingly, stretched out under the grating. 

“Are you doing important repairs?” I ask. 

The Doctor startles, cursing, before pulling himself out of the grate. “Willa, I didn’t hear you come in!”

I smile apologetically. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. If you’re busy, I can come back.” 

“Nonsense.” He waves his hand as if to wave the thought away. Eyes flickering to my box of hair bands, his lips tick up into a smile. “You want me to do your hair?” 

Humming, I nod. “Yeah, I was thinking a waterfall braid today.” 

The Doctor pulls a rag out of his pocket, wiping his hands off thoroughly, before gesturing for me to sit down in front of him. I do so, getting comfortable in a cross legged position, while he sections out the strands he’s going to use. 

He starts humming a jaunty tune, and It’s not long before I’ve picked up the beat as well. Which is how Mickey and Rose walk in on us. 

“Er, what’s going on in here?” Mickey asks, his tone flabbergasted. 

Whatever the Doctor attempts to say comes out as garbled as the adults in Charlie Brown. He makes a frustrated noise, presumably taking the rubber bands out of his mouth, and ties off the end of my braid. “I’m braiding her hair, what does it look like I’m doing?”

He tugs on the center braid, letting me know it’s done. Instantly, I swing my head back and forth, enjoying the feeling of my hair swishing around. “Thanks!”

I move to get up, but Mickey interrupts. “No, no, sit back the way you were!” 

“Uh, why?” I ask him, confused. 

A flash comes from his phone, which he has pointed at us. Ah, that would be why. 

Pouting, I wave a hand at him. “Take it again! I wasn’t ready!” This time, I lean back and smile properly at the camera. 

Mickey takes another photo, looking pleased. It’s a little strange, but I’m going to be getting those pictures later one way or another, so I don’t think about it too hard. 

“Aright!” The Doctor springs up, my box of hair bands in his hair. He darts over to the console and places it haphazardly on top. “Where should we go today?” 

I get up off the floor myself, tucking my hairbrush into my back pocket as I do so. “Why doesn’t Mickey decide? Since it’s his first trip and all.” 

“Me?” Mickey asks, dumfounded look on his face. “Uh, I don’t know.”

“Humans.” The Doctor scoffs. “Give them the ability to travel and nine times out of ten they’ll freeze when asked where to go.” 

“Just put her on random.” I say, darting over to the console myself, fingers at the ready.

He grins at me. “Random it is then!” 

And then we are off. Piloting the Tardis is different when there is two of us. There is less running around and trying frantically to hit every button then there is a sort of synergetic rotation. 

Rose watches us with an undecipherable look on her face, while Mickey just looks excited. I flash her a smile the next time I rotate around, which makes her lips twitch up in response. Ha, I’m getting through to her. 

And then we land. 

The Doctor glances at the monitor quickly, but turns it off as I come around to do the same thing. He wiggles a finger at me, mouthing the word ‘surprise’.

I give him an unimpressed look. It was supposed to be a surprise for Mickey, not for me. 

“Um, is it okay for Rose to have done that?” Mickey’s voice interrupts our silent conversation. 

The two of look over to find the door cracked open, and Rose missing from the room. Huh, guess she was impatient herself. 

“Well.” I start out, glancing at the Doctor for confirmation. “I’m going to assume there’s breathable air.” 

The Doctor nods, striding for the door. Mickey looks uncertain. His eyes keep flickering between the door and me. I smile at him, gesturing towards the exit. “Onwards Mickey Smith, the world awaits you.”

Mickey looks at me for a long second, then stands up straight and marches for the door like he’s facing a firing squad. Good job, Mickey Smith, defender of the Earth. 

I shake the thought from my head, along with the spike of pain that accompanied it, and move closer to the exit myself. 

The first thing I notice when I walk off the Tardis is the fact that wherever we’ve landed is dark, and there are wires everywhere. 

“It's a spaceship.” Mickey murmurs, sounding incredibly excited. “Brilliant! I got a spaceship on my first go.”

I hide a smile as I pull the door closed behind me. 

“It looks kind of abandoned. Anyone on board?” Rose asks the Doctor. 

“Nah, nothing here.” The Doctor responds immediately. “Well, nothing dangerous. Well, not that dangerous.” He pauses. “You know what, I'll just have a quick scan, in case there's anything dangerous.”

The Doctor moves over to the console in the middle of the room, Rose moving with him. “So, what's the date? How far we gone?”

“Hmm, how about it Willa. What’s the date?” The Doctor grins as he looks at me over his shoulder. 

Training exercise then. A wave of nerves hit me out of nowhere. Normally it’s just the two of us, and if I don’t get something right then it’s not that big of a deal, but with two companions here…

I’d have to make sure I got it right. 

I close my eyes, letting my awareness expand. The tang of the manufactured oxygen, the smell of meat cooking and the pull of the artificial gravity are the first things to hit me. The ship itself is sitting in one place. It’s called the SS Madame de Pompadour. That all falls to the way side as the very cosmos themselves spin. 

By the time I open my eyes only 5 seconds have passed, though it feels as if those five seconds have stretched into five minutes instead. 

“The Diagmar Cluster, 51st century.” I murmur. 

The Doctor’s smile takes on a proud edge. “Good job Willa.” He turns back to Rose and Mickey, pulling something on the console and turning the lights on. The ceiling retracts partially, showing off the stars. “We are nearly three thousand years into your future. You’re a long way from home, Mickey Smith, two and a half galaxies in fact.”

Mickey wanders over to the window, looking out into space. Rose follows him, leaning on his shoulders, a huge smile on her face. “Mickey Smith, meet the universe. See anything you like?”

He turns back to Rose. “It's so realistic!”

I can’t help but smile this time, charmed by how excited he is. 

“Look at all this repair work Willa.” The Doctor grabs my attention. I turn back to console, taking in the spare parts everywhere. The computer chimes, showing a 3d rendering of the ship. “Now that's odd. Look at that. All the warp engines are going. Full capacity. There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe, but we're not moving. So where's all that power going?”

“The engines are on full, and we’re not moving?” I frown, worrying my lip. “What about the crew?”

“Good question.” The Doctor replies, hitting a button. “No life readings on board.”

Rose comes up to us with Mickey beside her. “Well, we're in deep space. They didn't just nip out for a quick fag.”

“No, I've checked all the smoking pods.” The Doctor states, before pausing and sniffing the air. “Can you smell that?”

Rose nods after a second. “Yeah, someone's cooking.”

“Sunday roast, definitely.” Mickey adds. 

The Doctor presses a couple more buttons on the console and a door slides open behind us. It’s a testament to how ingrained exploration is in us by this point that the Doctor and I immediately head for the open door, Rose right behind us. Mickey hesitates, I can hear his feet stutter in their steps, before he hurries to follow us as well. 

The room that has opened up to us has a huge fireplace, on that’s crackling merrily. 

“Well, there's something you don't see in your average spaceship.” The Doctor states, taken aback. “Eighteenth century. French. Nice mantle.” He pulls his sonic out and scans the mantle. “Not a hologram. It's not even a reproduction. This actually is an eighteenth century French fireplace.”

“It’s double sided. There’s another room through here.” I murmur, kneeling down to see through the fireplace. 

“There can't be. That's the outer hull of the ship.” Rose states. “Look.”

I don’t look, instead I smile at the girl who’s peering through the fireplace at me. “Hello, there.” 

“Hello?” The Doctor asks, confused, as he kneels beside me. “Who are y-Oh, Hello.” 

It seems like he’s finally noticed the little girl. 

“Hello.” The girl responds. 

“What’s your name?” The Doctor prompts, voice soft. 

The girl looks confused, but not frightened. “Reinette.”

“Reinette, that's a lovely name.” The Doctor smiles. “Can you tell me where you are at the moment, Reinette?”

Reinette studies him. “In my bedroom.”

“And where's your bedroom? Where do you live, Reinette?” The Doctor coaxes, still smiling gently. 

“Paris, of course.” She laughs. 

The Doctor nods. “Paris, right!”

“Monsieur, what are you doing in my fireplace?” Reinette finally asks. 

“Oh, it's just a routine-“ The Doctor pauses, obviously trying to come up with some sort of a lie. 

“It’s just a routine fire check.” I chime in, smiling at the girl myself. “Don’t mind the goof over there, it’s his first one so he’s a little nervous.” 

Reinette giggles.

The Doctor lays a hand on my shoulder. “Can you tell me what year it is?” He asks Reinette.

“Of course I can.” She replies. “Seventeen hundred and twenty seven.”

“Right, lovely. One of my favorites.” The Doctor states. “August is rubbish though. Stay indoors. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for your help. Hope you enjoy the rest of the fire. Night, night.”

“Goodnight Monsieur.” Reinette says, standing up from her crouch next to the fire place.

We do the same on our side of the fireplace. 

“You said this was the fifty first century.” Mickey accuses. 

“I also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the universe.” The Doctor replies. “I think we just found the hole. Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink.”

I cough into my hand to hide the laugh that wants to bubble up. 

Mickey looks between the two of us. “What's that?”

“No idea. Just made it up. Didn't want to say magic door.” The Doctor tells him, beaming.

“And on the other side of the magic door is France in 1727?” Rose asks, exaggerating the words ‘magic door’.

The Doctor shrugs off his hero jacket, throwing it on a valve to keep it from falling onto the floor. “Well, she was speaking French. Right period French, too.”

“She was speaking English, I heard her.” Mickey states, looking confused. 

Rose drapes her arms around Mickey’s neck, smiling at him. “That's the Tardis. Translates for you.”

The Doctor ignores the conversation, inspecting the fireplace. He runs his fingers along the bottom of the mantle. 

“Even French?” Mickey asks in the background. Rose confirms, but I’m more concerned with the look of triumph on the Doctor’s face. 

“Gotcha!” The Doctor grins, pressing a lever on the side of the mantle. The whole fireplace starts to rotate, the Doctor and I going around with it, while Mickey and Rose watch us from the room we were originally in. 

The room we end up in is dark and Reinette is asleep on the bed. The Doctor moves over to the window, but my attention it caught by the clock on the mantle. 

Reinette wakes up, I can hear her gasp. 

“It's okay. Don't scream. It's us. It's the fireplace people.” The Doctor’s footsteps tell me he moves closer to Reinette’s bed, and then there is more light then there was. “Look. We were talking just a moment ago. The two of us were in your fireplace.”

“Monsieur, that was weeks ago. That was months.” Reinette tells him.

“Doctor.” I turn around to look at him, but he waves me off. 

“Really?” The Doctor scratches his head, turning on the spot and walking back near the fireplace. “Oh. Must be a loose connection. Need to get a man in.”

Reaching up, I grab his head, making it face the clock. “Look.” 

“Oohh.” The Doctor breathes, so I let my hand drop. “Now that is properly frightening.”

The tick-tick-tick of a clock resonates through the room, but the clock on the mantle is broken. So where is the ticking coming from?

“You're scared of a broken clock?” Reinette asks.

“Yeah. Cause this clock is broken, but the sound of ticking is still there.” I look at Reinette, seeing realization bloom behind her eyes. “What’s making the ticking noise?”

“And that’s not a clock. You can tell by the resonance. Too big.” The Doctor continues my thought, looking around the room. “Six feet, I'd say. The size of a man.”

“What is it?” Reinette whispers, hands clenching around her comforter. 

“Now, let's think. If you were a thing that ticked and you were hiding in someone's bedroom, first thing you do, break the clock. No one notices the sound of one clock ticking, but two?” The Doctor pauses, looking at Reinette, before stepping up to the left side of her bed. “You might start to wonder if you're really alone.” He kneels down next to the bed, sending a firm look up at the girl still sitting on it. “Stay on the bed. Right in the middle. Don't put your hands or feet over the edge.”

The Doctor pulls out his sonic and uses it to scan under the bed, something must swipe back at him because he jumps back immediately. And then I don’t have to guess at what’s under there anymore, as a person dressed in French clothes with a mask and a wig on, straightens up along the right side of Reinette’s bed. 

“Reinette, don’t look behind you.” I murmur, stepping up to the end of her bed myself. If the person lunges for her, I should be able to pull her away before any damage is done. 

Straightening from his own crouch, the Doctor watches the figure on the other side of Reinette’s bed. “You, stay exactly where you are.” There is a second where nothing happens, and then the Doctor’s eyes flickers between the still ticking figure and Reinette. The Doctor gentles his voice, even as he takes Reinette’s hands between his hands and looks into her eyes. “Hold still, let me look.” 

Five seconds pass, then the Doctor directs one of his more dangerous looks at the still ticking figure. “You've been scanning her brain.” His voice goes deep, a growl lurking under the words. “What, you've crossed two galaxies and thousands of years just to scan a child's brain? What could there be in a little girl's mind worth blowing a hole in the universe?”

“I don't understand. It wants me?” Reinette looks back at the figure, knocking the Doctor’s hands off her head. “You want me?”

“Not yet.” The figure states, voice mechanical. “You are incomplete.”

“Incomplete? What's that mean, incomplete?” The Doctor asks. The figure doesn’t even look at him, and it certainly doesn’t answer. “You can answer her, you can answer me. What do you mean, incomplete?”

It must take offense to that, because it rounds the bed. Its arm extends, a knife popping out and I jerk back to stop myself from getting impaled. 

“Be careful!” Reinette calls out.

Then the Doctor is there, a hand on my shoulder pulling me behind his back. “It’s just a nightmare Reinette, don’t worry about it. Everyone has nightmares.” The figure slashes at the two of us, and we dodge it. Though the Doctor keeps up with his witty words. That man is so ridiculous sometimes. “Even monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you, monster?” 

One last slash of it’s arm, and the Doctor dodges just at the right moment for the blade to get stuck in the top of the mantle. 

“What do monsters have nightmares about?” Reinette asks, eyes flickering between the three of us. 

The Doctor gestures for me to get closer to the fireplace, and I do. Then he grins over at Reinette while activating the lever that turns the fireplace around. “Me!”

As soon as the fireplace spins around, the Doctor is whirling away to grab what looks to be a large gun from beside the fireplace. I leap away as it shoots out some sort of ice-Oh, it’s a fire extinguisher. Makes sense, it’s right next to the fireplace. 

“Doctor!” Rose exclaims, startled. 

The figure finally stops struggling, the ice doing its job. 

“Excellent.” Mickey states. “Ice gun.”

The Doctor shakes his head, throwing the gun to Mickey. “Fire extinguisher.” 

Huh, I was right after all. 

Rose takes a step closer. “Where did that thing come from?”

“Here. I would think.” The Doctor responds, examining the figure that had been hiding under a child’s bed. 

“So why’s it dressed like that?” Mickey asks, confused. 

“Field trip to France. Some kind of basic camouflage protocol. Nice needlework, shame about the face.” The Doctor comments, pulling the mask from the figures face revealing internal clockwork circuitry. 

“Oh wow.” I can’t help but murmur, taking a step closer. 

“Look at that Willa.” He eyes the machinery. “Oh, you are beautiful! No, really, you are. You're gorgeous! Space age clockwork, I love it.” The Doctor sends me a cheeky smile. “I've got chills!”

While I might not have chills, I agree with the sentiment. “We’re still going to have to figure out why it was going after Reinette though.”

“You’re right.” The Doctor focus’s back on the clockwork android. “It would be an act of vandalism to disassemble you. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to do it.”

There’s a chime, and the android is beamed away. 

The Doctor huffs in irritation. “Short range teleport. Can't have got far. Could still be on board.”

“What is it?” Rose asks again.

“Don't go looking for it!” The Doctor tells her, wiggling a disapproving finger at her. 

Rose narrows her eyes at him. “And just where are you going?”

He darts over to the fireplace, once again pressing the button to turn the fireplace. “Back in a sec!”

And then he’s gone, and the three of us are left standing there staring at each other. 

Rolling her eyes, Rose grabs the other fire extinguisher off of the wall. 

Mickey shifts. “He said not to look for it.”

“As if that’s ever stopped us before.” I scoff, sharing a look of understanding with Rose. 

“Now you’re getting it.” Rose grins, tongue poking out between her teeth. 

As the three of us run off I can already imagine the lecture I’m going to get for this, but really? What did he expect after leaving us all by ourselves while he went off to do something. 

However, it doesn’t take us long to figure out that something horrible has happened here. The first sign is the eyeball in the security camera. 

Mickey tries to be all macho about it, though he’s clearly taken aback by the sight. 

It does raise a question though. This ship had a crew at one point, but there were no life signs when we first got here. 

A rhythmic thumping noise emanates from a small hatch on the bulkhead. Rose reaches out to open it, pulling her hand back quickly once it is open. 

Mickey crowds the space and I’m left on the fringes unable to see inside. 

“What is that?” Mickey asks. “What's that in the middle there? Looks like it's wired in.”

“It's a heart, Mickey. It's a human heart.” Rose replies, voice faint. 

An eye in the camera, a heart in the walls wired into something, and no life signs on the ship. The smell of cooking meat suddenly takes on a whole new meaning. 

I have to hold back my instinctive gag. “Let’s get out of here.” 

“Yeah, that sound like a good idea.” Mickey agrees, closing the hatch. 

We continue down the corridor, but this time we all stay a little bit closer to one another than we had before. 

Mickey hesitates, opening his mouth several times before he voices the thought he’s had. “Maybe it wasn't a real heart.”

“Course it was a real heart.” Rose mutters. 

“Is this normal?” Mickey’s eyes dart between Rose and me. “Is this an average day?”

I spare him a smile. “Mickey, you just time traveled in a spaceship that’s bigger on the inside. You left normal behind the moment you stepped inside those doors.”

Rose has a hint of a smile on her face as she stops in front of a window. It’s France again, some sort of a sitting room can be seen on the other side.

“It's France again. We can see France.” Mickey states. 

“I think we're looking through a mirror.” Rose says, looking intently into the room. 

Three men enter the room, one that’s wearing clothes made of better material than the others. Clearly someone in charge. 

“Blimey, look at this guy.” Mickey scoffs. “Who does he think he is?”

“The King of France.” The Doctor states, coming around the corner. 

“Oh, here's trouble.” Rose teases him. “What you been up to?”

“Oh this and that.” He murmurs back. “Became the imaginary friend of a future French aristocrat, picked a fight with a clockwork man.” 

A horse clops up, neighing. 

“Oh and I met a horse.” The Doctor finishes. 

“What's a horse doing on a spaceship?” Mickey asks, incredulous. 

The Doctor rolls his eyes. “Mickey, what's pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship? Get a little perspective.” He taps the window. “See these? They're all over the place. On every deck. Gateways to history. But not just any old history.” 

“But why open these windows in the first place?” I ask. “And why France?”

“I don’t know.” The Doctor admits. “But it all has to do with her.” He points to a woman who’s just entered the room, curtsying for the King. “Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, known to her friends as Reinette. One of the most accomplished women who ever lived.”

Rose hums. “So has she got plans of being the Queen, then?”

The Doctor shakes his head. “No, he's already got a Queen. She's got plans of being his mistress.”

“Oh, I get it. Camilla.” Rose states, sharing a laugh with Mickey. 

“I think this is the night they met. The night of the Yew Tree ball. In no time at flat, she'll get herself established as his official mistress, with her own rooms at the palace. Even her own title.” The Doctor exaggerates his voice. “Madame de Pompadour.” 

I direct a sharp look in his direction. That’s why they’re doing it, that’s why the clockwork androids are opening up time windows into France. This ship was called the SS Madame de Pompadour.

“The Queen must have loved her.” Rose mutters, oblivious to my realization. 

“Oh, she did.” The Doctor tells her, watching as the King and his men leave the room. Reinette comes up to the window to check her appearance. “They get on very well.”

Mickey scoffs. “The King's wife and the King's girlfriend?”

“France. It's a different planet.” The Doctor shrugs. 

Reinette turns around suddenly, saying something to a woman in the back of the room. The woman turns around, and of course it’s not a woman but one of the clockwork androids instead. 

The Doctor moves quickly, grabbing the fire extinguisher from Mickey and opening the window. “Hello, Reinette. Hasn't time flown?”

“Fireplace man!” Reinette exclaims, stepping back as the Doctor sprays the clockwork android. She does a double take as she sees me. “And fireplace girl as well.” 

I wave, sending her a smile. “Hello Reinette.” 

The android creaks, trying to move. 

“What’s it doing?” Mickey asks, catching the fire extinguisher as the Doctor throws it back to him. 

“Switching back on. Melting the ice.” The Doctor tells him. 

Mickey sends him an irritated look. “And then what?”

The android throws out an arm which the Doctor jumps back from. “Then it kills everyone in the room. Focuses the mind, doesn't it?” He grins at Mickey before focusing back on the android. “Who are you? Identify yourself.” 

It doesn’t say anything. 

“Order it to answer me.” The Doctor tells Reinette. 

“Why should it listen to me?” Reinette shakes her head.

The Doctor shrugs. “I don’t know. It did when you were a child. Let's see if you've still got it.”

Reinette takes a deep breath, her chin going up in defiance. “Answer his question. Answer any and all questions put to you.”

“I am repair droid seven.” The clockwork android states, voice just as mechanical as the other one had been. 

“What happened to the ship, then?” The Doctor asks. “There was a lot of damage.”

“Ion storm.” The android responds. “Eighty two percent systems failure.”

The Doctor’s face screws up in confusion. “That ship hasn't moved in over a year. What's taken you so long?”

“We did not have the parts.” It tells him. 

“What's happened to the crew?” The Doctor continues. “Where are they?”

The android twitches. “We did not have the parts.” 

“There should have been over fifty people on your ship. Where did they go?” The Doctor asks, still not getting it. 

“Doctor, they didn’t have the parts.” I murmur. 

He looks at me in confusion. “What?”

“We found a human eye in one of the security cameras, and a heart wired into the machinery.” Making eye contact with him, I watch as he understands what I’m telling him. 

The Doctor whirls to face the android. “You didn’t have the parts, so you used the crew.” He closes his eyes for a brief second. “What did you say the flight deck smelt of?”

“Someone cooking.” Rose repeats, voice faint. 

“Flesh plus heat. Barbeque.” The Doctor narrows his eyes at the droid. “But what are you doing here? You've opened up time windows. That takes colossal energy. All for what? What do you need from Reinette Poisson that you couldn’t have got from the repair yard?”

“One more part is required.” The clockwork droid states. 

“Then why haven't you taken it?” The Doctor asks, voice hard. 

The droid twitches, head tilting toward Reinette. “She is incomplete.”

“What, so, that's the plan, then.” The Doctor scoffs. “Just keep opening up more and more time windows, scanning her brain, checking to see if she's done yet.”

“Why her?” Rose asks. “You've got all of history to choose from. Why specifically her?”

“We are the same.” The droid responds. 

“We are not the same!” Reinette shakes her head. “We are in no sense the same.”

“We are the same.” The droid repeats. 

“Get out of here. Get out of here this instant!” Reinette orders it. 

“Reinette, no.” The Doctor reaches for her, but it’s to late. The droid teleports out. 

“It's back on the ship. Willa, take Rose, Mickey and Arthur. Get after it. Follow it. Don't approach it, just watch what it does.” The Doctor orders. 

I nod, ushering the two uncooperative humans towards the open window. 

“Arthur?” Rose asks. 

The Doctor shrugs. “Good name for a horse.”

Rose sends him a stern look. “No, you're not keeping the horse.”

“His ship, his rules.” I chime in before the Doctor can open his mouth and make the situation even worse. 

The Doctor closes the window behind us, turning back to Reinette. 

“So, that Doctor, eh?” Mickey states, fighting a smile. 

“What?” Rose snaps. She starts walking down the hallway and we hurry to catch up with her. 

“Well. Madame de Pompadour. Sarah Jane Smith. Cleopatra.” Mickey lists off. 

“Cleopatra.” Rose purses her lips. “He mentioned her once.”

“Yeah.” Mickey gives Rose a pointed look. “But he called her Cleo.” 

Rose turns to argue some more, but her eyes widen. “Mickey!” 

It’s to late. A droid grabs Mickey by the neck and starts dragging him across the room.

Before I get a chance to react, an arm comes around my chest, pinning my own arms to my sides. The android injects me with something. It’s a sedative, a fast acting one, I note as darkness encroaches in my eyesight. 

It doesn’t completely knock me out, but I don’t have control over my body. I’m forced to watch as Mickey and Rose are drugged, as we are all dragged down the hallway. 

The place they take us to, it looks as though it used to be a med bay. There is no crew on the ship anymore, I’m well aware that the med bay has long since been turned into a room that the androids collect spare parts from so the sight of the room sends a jolt of fear through my system, one I feel even through the fog of the sedative.

We are each placed on a table, restraints placed over our wrists and calves to keep us from escaping. The room spins in a sickening way so I close my eyes to stop the sensory flow, but it doesn’t do much to help with my nausea. 

I know, intellectually, that they are planning on cutting us up and using us as parts in the ship, but the swirly space the drug has created in my head doesn’t allow the panic to spread through me like it should. 

Mickey wakes up first, I can hear his breathing change. “Rose?” She doesn’t answer. He tries again. “Rose! Can you hear me?”

“Miic-key.” I manage to get out through my numb lips.

“Willa!” Mickey exclaims. I wish I had enough energy to ask him to quiet down. “You’re here too!”

“What's going on?” Rose murmur, voice groggy. “Doctor?!”

“Rose? They're going to chop us up, just like the crew. They're going to chop us up and stick us all over their stupid spaceship.” Mickey freaks out. “And where's the Doctor? Where's the precious Doctor now? He's been gone for flipping hours, that's where he is!”

A hint of confusion swells up from under the fog. We haven’t been here for hours. 

The android standing next to my bed moves, head tilting up. “You are compatible.”

“Well, you might want to think about that. You really, really, might, because the three of us, we didn't come here alone. Oh no. And trust me, you wouldn't want to mess with our designated driver.” Rose attempts to intimidate them, but based on the way the one next to me moves closer I’m going to say it doesn’t work. 

The android extends its arm, a blade snapping out of its sleeve next to my face. The panic that was being suppressed under the fog? That snaps to the forefront of my mind. 

I try to struggle, but the restraints are made of metal and I don’t get very far. 

“Ever heard of the Daleks?” I vaguely hear Rose say in the background. “Remember them? They had a name for our friend. They had myths about him, and a name.”

The android moves closer to me and even though I tilt myself as far away as I can, the blade still starts slicing into my neck. I stubbornly keep my lips pressed together, even as a terrified whine builds in my throat. 

There is a bang from somewhere outside of the room. A crash follows it. The android stops moving, blade still imbedded into my flesh. 

Then comes the Doctor’s voice. He’s…singing? ♫“I could've danced all night, I could've danced all night!”♬

The only thing I can feel is disbelief as the Doctor stumbles into view, tie around his head and a goblet in his hand. ♫“And still have begged for more. I could've spread my wings and done a thou.”♬ 

He’s drunk?

My panic skyrockets, hearts racing. 

“Have you met the French?” The Doctor asks. “My god, they know how to party.”

“Oh, look at what the cat dragged in. The Oncoming Storm.” Rose practically snarls, you can hear the anger in her voice. 

He makes a noise of derision. “Oh, you sound just like your mother.”

The android seems to have had enough of his talking, because it increases the pressure of its knife at my throat. I feel it dig in another centimeter. My breath catches at the feeling. 

“And you! You’re my favorite!” The Doctor states, lurching over to the table that’s holding me. The corner of his mouth ticks down in anger at the sight of the knife at my throat. “Do you know why? Because you're so thick. You're Mister Thick Thick Thickity Thick Face from Thicktown, Thickania. And so's your dad.” Moving quickly, he tears the wig off of the android, pouring the contents of his goblet inside the delicate workings. The android retracts its arm, curling downward into itself. 

The other androids start moving, I can hear them, but the Doctor darts over to a console in the middle of the room and pulls a lever. The sounds stop. 

Then the Doctor is at my side, screwdriver releasing my restraints even as his other hand goes up to cover the cut at my neck. His concern washes over me, as well as a dangerous anger at the fact that I was hurt.

My nausea spikes at the movement, it’s all I can do to lunge for the side of the table that the Doctor isn’t on as I void what’s in my body. 

“There you go Willa.” The Doctor murmurs, holding my hair back. His hand is a steady comfort from its place on my back. 

I groan in response, absolutely miserable. It would have been kinder if the stupid sedative knocked me out instead of whatever the hell this is. The Doctor hands me a bottle of water. My first sip I just swish around my mouth before spitting out. My second sip I actually drink. 

I wave him away, gesturing at Rose and Mickey who are still restrained. The Doctor raises his screwdriver and releases them, not even bothering to look away from me. “Is the nausea better?”

Eh. 

Reaching out, the Doctor presses his fingers against my pulse, cataloging my body’s response. “Try that again.”

‘Better.’ I respond mentally, just thankful I’m no longer puking on the floor. 

“Your body is trying to purge the sedative the only way it knows how.” A crease forms on his forehead, eyes moving from side to side as he monitors my vitals. “Did you pass out at all?”

‘No.’ I send, swaying into his shoulder. ‘Just foggy.’

The Doctor accepts my weight without a complaint, taking the opportunity to feel my forehead with his other hand. He makes a frustrated noise when he makes contact, sweeping me up into his arms and ignoring the queasy sound I make in response. 

The world spins, corridors stretching in strange ways around us. And then we are in the Tardis med bay. ‘Doctor..’

His hand brushes my forehead, and my nausea disappears. I slump in relief, watching as he sets me up with an iv. After that’s done, he takes one of the dermal regenerators to the cut on my neck. The feeling of my skin knitting itself back together is odd, but one I’ll gladly take over the sharp, raw feeling of the cut. 

When the Doctor finishes, he sits down on the edge of my bed with a sigh, looking exhausted. There are fine lines extending from the corner of his eyes, and the lines across his forehead are stark against his skin.

I place a hand on his knee. It takes a few seconds, but he raises his head to see what I need. Instead of asking for anything, I smile. It’s shaky, and I’m sure my face is a dreadful sight, but it’s a smile nonetheless.

The Doctor barks out a quiet laugh, as if he can’t help himself. “Oh Willa, what am I going to do with you?”

‘You’re going to leave me here so you can finish what it is you need to do.’ I tell him, pushing how serious I am towards him at the same time. 

“What?” His eyes sharpen, studying me. 

‘Madame de Pompadour.’ Taking my hand from it’s position on his knee, I purse my lips. ‘I can feel it. The clockwork androids were never supposed to be there in the first place, and if they succeed in killing her..’

The Doctor nods, exhaustion gone from his face. “Her death is a fixed point, if she dies at any other time it could have disastrous consequences.” His lips twitch up, just slightly. “You can feel it then?”

My nose wrinkles as I think about how to explain. ‘It’s like an itch, one that’s getting stronger the more time passes by.’ I grimace. ‘Except it isn’t like that at all. I don’t know how to explain it.’

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, the Doctor’s face lights up. “Willa, this is amazing news!” He presses an enthusiastic kiss to the side of my head, lingering there and breathing out a word in Gallifreyan.

Χ η ι λ δ

It lingers in the air, long after the Doctor pulls back with a pleased expression on his face. It’s a word that he hasn’t taught me yet, and I have a feeling it’s not even in the same dialect that common Gallifreyan is spoken in due to his intonation. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that was High Gallifreyan. 

Despite me not being able to understand the word itself, the meaning is very clear. ‘Child who is cherished.’

Coughing to clear my throat, I will my cheeks to lose the pleased flush that had sprung up. ‘What do you mean, good news?’

“Your temporal awareness is starting to mature.” The Doctor explains. 

What? ‘But I thought you already said I had an increased sensitivity to timelines?’

“You already had increased sensitivity to timelines, yes, which is why you get flashes of what’s going to happen.” He tilts his head to the side, proud smile still there. “This is different. You know Reinette needs to be helped because if she isn’t a fixed point will be altered. The feeling you are getting, it’s almost as if you are on the precipice of something, right?”

I nod slowly. 

The Doctor’s smile gets larger. “I feel that as well. It’s your body tapping into the possibilities.”

‘I don’t understand the difference.’ I admit, frowning. 

“Ah, don’t worry about it for now.” He murmurs, smile turning gentle. “Just know that I’m proud of you.”

My face heats up as I lose the battle against my own embarrassment. ‘Stop it.’

Ruffling his hand through my hair, no doubt destroying the braids he put in earlier, the Doctor laughs. 

‘Don’t you have someone to go save?’ I mentally mutter, anything to distract me from my embarrassment. 

The Doctor has to decency to look a little embarrassed himself. “I un-synced the Tardis from my personal timeline when we entered.”

My mind whirls. ‘Seriously? So you mean that when you entered the Tardis, you made time slower outside?’

“I just shifted the door a bit to the left, so to speak.” He murmurs, humming as he tries to figure out a way to explain it to me. “Right now, about 15 seconds have passed outside the Tardis while it’s been nearly 13 minutes in here.”

“That’s…that’s so cheating.” I breathe, my words still sloppy. It’s a stark reminder that even though the Doctor made me not feel the nausea that’s still there, I’m still being affected by the sedative nonetheless.

He raises an eyebrow, a look on his face as if to say ‘I’m the Doctor’, before tapping my hand beside the iv he put in. “The saline in the iv should help your body run the sedative through faster.” The Doctor gives me a sharp look. “I’ve made it so that you can’t feel the nausea anymore, but that doesn’t mean it’s gone. Which means that you need to stay here until the iv bag runs out or I come back to check on you. The sedative should have run its course by then.”

I don’t respond, frustrated by the whole situation. 

“Willa.” The Doctor prompts. 

‘I heard you.’ I mentally respond. ‘I just-I just hate when I have to stay behind.’

The Doctor ruffles my hair again. “I know you do. But it won’t be for long.” He makes a noise of consideration. “How about when this is over with we spend some time on your studies?” 

I latch onto that idea immediately. ‘Oh! Can we do more on Earth Folklore?’

He levels me with an unimpressed look. 

‘It’s interesting.’ I defend myself. 

“I’ll think about it.” The Doctor tells me. 

I bite back a smile, knowing what that means. It’s almost as if I can feel him rearranging the schedule he has me on. Before I lose my nerve, I push at him gently. ‘Go, save Reinette.’

The Doctor squeezes my hand once more, letting go and walking out of the room quickly. He doesn’t spare a glance back but I don’t mind. I get the impression that he wants this whole situation to be over a soon as possible. 

But, that doesn’t mean I have to just sit here while he does all the work by himself. Concentrating, I turn my focus to the timelines like I had when we first got here. It takes the Doctor exactly 3 minutes and 42 seconds to walk to the front doors of the Tardis. I can feel the tangle that he left behind, and I can feel him working to undo it. 

He can surely feel me, just as I can feel him, but instead of getting mad that I’m not doing as he asked he actually seems a little amused. In fact, he slows down so I can get a better sense of what he’s doing. 

Hah, he’ll take any chance to make something a lesson in one way or another. 

The Doctor twists the two points in time until they sync back up, and then he leaves. 

Since I have nothing better to do and I’m waiting for the iv for run its course, I examine the two pieces of space that the Doctor had just manipulated. At first glance they seem to have popped back into place with no problem, but the closer I look at them the more I see that they hadn’t popped back quite the way I had thought. 

The two pieces seem almost..bruised. It’s as if the Doctor has damaged them by twisting them in the way he had. So not something that you would be able to use all the time. Huh. 

Disengaging myself from the timelines, I open my eyes only to flinch back at the sight of a scowling Rose Tyler right in front of me. 

“Did you know he was going to do it?” She demands. 

I shake my head, disoriented. “What are you talking about?”

“The Doctor broke through the time window to save Madame de Pompadour.” Rose’s voice is bitter. “But by doing so, he trapped himself in 17th century France.”

“Ah.” Is all I can say in response. My head is fuzzy, and I feel sort of listless. 

“Is that all you have to say? ‘Ah.’?” Her face twists into a fierce scowl. 

“Leave her alone.” Mickey defends me, stepping into view behind Rose’s back. 

Rose turns to face him. “But Mickey-“

He cuts her off. “I’ve heard it all before, Rose. But now I’ve gotten a chance to see it for myself. You’re angry with her because she’s closer to the Doctor than you are now, but you gotta stop being jealous. All it’s going to do it drive a wedge further between you and the Doctor.”

“You don’t understand. She knows things, things that she shouldn’t know.” Rose tries to explain. “And then she doesn’t do anything about it.” 

“I remember.” Mickey reminds her. “She knew about my gran. You don’t see me treating her the way you are.” 

Rose shakes her head, the motion sharp. “Willa’s the reason he changed Mickey. She promised it would save his life and then he died anyway.” She hesitates. “The old Doctor would have never left me behind.”

Oh Rose. 

I’ve changed everything by being here, haven’t I? But, it hasn’t just been my choices which have made things change. The people around me have adapted and done things in response to the changes that I’ve made. 

“It was my fault that the Doctor died.” I admit, making them both turn to me. “I tried to make it so that he wouldn’t have to. My body was already failing at that point, there was no reason to take him down with me.” Focusing on Rose, I smile bitterly. “It was supposed to be you. You were the one originally supposed to take the vortex inside of you. But I couldn’t let that happen. Rose Tyler was important, you see.”

I tilt my head, focusing on Mickey next. “And Mickey Smith. You are also important. The both of you have no idea how much.”

Mickey raises an eyebrow at me. “That’s enough of that. I’ve picked up enough to know that you aren’t supposed to be telling us any of this.” 

“You’re right.” I frown down at my hands. “I feel weird.” 

“I did pull your iv out so you’d wake up.” Rose grudgingly admits. 

Shaking my head, I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and stand up. “That’s not it. It was only saline in the iv, wouldn’t have made me feel this way.” 

“Wait.” Rose and Mickey catch up to me as I make my way down the hallway. “You’re telling me that it wasn’t some fancy medicine keeping you asleep?”

I give her a pointed look. “Why would the Doctor give me a sedative after I had a bad reaction to the first sedative that was still in my system?” 

Rose doesn’t respond, frowning down at the floor. I don’t have the time to figure out why she’s upset now, I need to figure out what’s going on. And why I feel so out of sorts. 

Oh.

“Oi!” Mickey complains. 

I did just stop right in the middle of the corridor causing them to run into me, so I can see why he’s bellyaching. 

“I get it now.” I tell them. 

“Get what?” Rose asks. 

“I get why I feel so weird.” My eyes flicker between the two of them. “And why the barrier is thinning.”

Mickey tilts his head. “And why’s that?”

I grin, all teeth. “The Doctor went through the time window, trapped himself in 17th century France.” 

“Yeah.” Rose states. “We know. I’m the one who told you about it.” 

She’s not getting it, neither of them are. “We’re not human, the Doctor and I. We look it, but fundamentally there are differences. For example, we’re telepathic.” 

“I don’t understand why you’re telling us this.” Mickey admits, frowning down at me. 

I make a noise of frustration. “The Doctor and I are connected. All Gallifreyans are connected. But now he’s not here anymore. The connection has been stoppered at the source because he’s so far away. Do you understand now?”

Mickey nods slowly. Good, I don’t know if I’d be able to explain anymore than I already had. It was just something that I’d come to instinctually know. 

“So, because you two aren’t connected anymore the barrier he’s put on your mind to stop you from seeing the future is breaking down?” Rose murmurs. 

“Exactly.” I beam at the two of them. It’s a proper smile this time. 

Rose exchanges a look with Mickey. “But isn’t that a bad thing?” He asks me. 

I nod. “Oh yeah. I’ll start to tap into the timelines and eventually I won’t be able to stop. It’ll probably kill me again.” 

Mickey gapes at me. 

Rose makes a noise akin to a teakettle signaling the tea is ready. “You can’t just say things like that! Fix it!”

“The only way to fix it is to get the Doctor back.” I explain.

“Then go pick him up.” Rose gestures at the console room that’s visible at the end of the corridor. “I know you can fly the Tardis.”

Briefly closing my eyes, I re-open them just to smile at her. “I appreciate your concern, but that won’t be necessary.”

Rose opens her mouth, no doubt to scold me some more, but the sound of a door opening cuts her off. 

It’s the Doctor, he’s found a way back all by himself. 

“Hello?” He calls out. 

Rose and Mickey rush forward, but I stay where I am, unsettled. Sounds of happiness and the rustle of cloth indicating a hug reach me from the console room. 

I blink at the floor. 

That was not something I ever want to experience again. 

“How long did you wait?” The Doctor asks. 

“Five and a half hours.” Rose admits. 

And that’s enough of that, I turn on my heels and walk off in the other direction. It doesn’t matter where I’m going, I just want away. 

Five and a half hours was all it took. Five and a half hours for the barrier to decay to such an extent that events were bleeding through. 

At the rate it had been going, I estimate that the barrier would have completely disintegrated within ten hours. I wouldn’t have lasted much longer that that. 

A cold sweat breaks out on the back of my neck. My hearts begins to race, breaths turning to sharp inhales. A door opens next to me and I take the escape, anything to get me out of the strangely warping corridors. 

“Fuck.” I mutter, clenching the fabric of my shirt in front of my chest. It feels as though my hearts are pumping double time. Can I even have a panic attack now that I have two hearts?

The answer, I find out, is a resounding yes. 

I come back to myself having no idea how long it’s been since I’ve first entered this room. A voice is talking, a very familiar voice. One that I haven’t heard in years. 

“Turn it off, please.” My voice is desperate, shaken. 

The voice stops, silence descending across the room. 

A sob catches in my throat, but I ruthlessly hold it in. No tears, not now. My body feels worn out, skin simultaneously too tight and not tight enough. The tang of my anxiety is thick in the air, it’s all I can smell. 

Chiming, the Tardis flashes the lights to get my attention. At some point I’d ended up huddled against the wall, so I look up from my knees only for my breath to catch at the sight in front of me. 

It’s the Tardis’s Architectural Reconfiguration room. Probably the most vulnerable part of the ship. I needed a place to hide, a place to block out the world and she let me into the closest place I could get to her heart. 

If there was ever a doubt in my mind that the Tardis cared for me, this would put a stopper to them. She burbles, the sound smug. 

“Yes, yes.” I pat the floor next to me. “I love you too.” 

She presses an image against my mind. One of the Doctor, head in his hands, outside the door. 

I wasn’t surprised. He had probably followed me as soon as Rose and Mickey told him what happened. 

Groaning, I force my stiff limbs to hold my weight as I climb to my feet. The Tardis opens to the door for me as soon as I get close enough, which I’m thankful for, and I plop down against the wall next to the Doctor. 

“You weren’t supposed to find out that way.” He states, voice lacking inflection. “I didn’t realize that the barrier would weaken so much in such a short amount of time.” 

I shrug, not that he can see it. “Eh, shit happens.”

The Doctor tenses, shoulders tightening. He pulls his head out of his hands to send me a truly withering look. “Shit happens. That’s why you just spent the last two hours, fifteen minutes and fifty two seconds locked away having a panic attack.” 

“I wasn’t having a panic attack the entire time, and anyways I wouldn’t have wanted you to see me like that.” I tell him, gentle but firm. “The Tardis did what she thought was best.”

He heaves a sigh. 

Leaning over, I rest my head against his shoulder. The Doctor shifts to accommodate me, but doesn’t push me off which I’m going to take as a good sign. 

“You are very independent. I try to remember that, but it’s hard.” He murmurs. “All I want to do sometimes is wrap you in blankets and hide you away from the world.”

I close my eyes against the idea. It sounds wonderful right now, but I know if I give an inch he’ll run with it. 

“And not a single word of protest, you must really be out of it right now.” The Doctor muses, arm coming around to pull me further into his side. 

“You promised to tell me about Earth folklore.” I grumble, pushing my face further into his side. 

He levels me with an unimpressed look. “I don’t remember making any promises of the sort.” 

Waiting, I don’t say anything, and sure enough he starts talking about it anyways. I also don’t say anything when I feel him brush a finger across the skin of my face, or when I feel him run a mental survey over my mind. He shores up the barrier, which I’m grateful for, but he also soothes some of my lingering anxiety. 

It’s as if that anxiety was the only thing keeping me on my feet, as soon as he brushes it aside I can feel my heartsrate slow and my breathing even out. I hadn’t even realized it was still elevated. 

“There we go Willa.” The Doctor murmurs. “It’s okay to need help sometimes.” 

I know…it’s just hard. 

And sometimes the hurts had to happen in order for you to get over them properly. 

He huffs. “Stop being so grownup for five seconds and let me take care of you.” 

I yawn, my hand coming up to rub at my eyes. 

Yeah, that sounds good. I trust the Doctor, he can take care of things for a while. 

The Doctor’s breathing stutters for a second, but I’m too exhausted to think about why. And then I’m in the air as he swings me into his arms. “Well!” His voice is oddly cheerful after everything. “No use staying here.” 

Oh? Where are we going then?

“You aren’t even trying anymore.” The Doctor states, voice warm. His long legs eat up the distance between us and our next destination.

No, I’m really not. It’s not like he’s not tuned into me anyways. The effort to push concrete thoughts out towards him is more than my lazy self wants to put forth right now. 

The Doctor laughs. A door materializes to our left and he shoulders his way into it. It’s my room, with its familiar star filled ceiling. Setting me down, he pushes me towards the bathroom. “You got ten minutes to shower and get dressed.” 

I frown at him, confused. Why only ten minutes? 

“Words Willa.” He prompts me, gentle. 

Bleh. I wave him off, heading to the bathroom to do as he’d said. Words are never necessary. They’re just helpful tools. You can tell a lot about a person from the form their silence takes. 

I shower, dry off and get dressed with two minutes to spare. The Doctor is early anyways, loitering outside my door with a blanket, freshly showered as well. 

He leads me to an area of the Tardis I’ve never seen before. A sort of indoor mountain range. It’s really quite beautiful. 

The only thing that tells me we’re still inside the Tardis at all is the metal door at our back and the comfy couch sitting near the edge of the cliffside. 

I direct a pointed look in the Doctor’s direction, but he ignores it, going to sit down on the couch. Heaving a sigh, I follow him. 

The Doctor grumbles when I plop down on his legs but doesn’t do anything more than spread the blanket he brought with him over my shoulders. Then, pulling a book out of nowhere, he starts lecturing me on the differences between legends and folklore. 

It’s…exactly what I need. The familiar cadence of his voice helps me focus on something other than what happened earlier. 

He really is pretty good at this whole taking care of me thing.


	8. An intermission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mkay, so this chapter is almost entirely fluff. Also, hard conversations. And mentions of suicidal thoughts. So please don’t read if any of those things are something you are not comfortable with.  
> Oh the other hand, here is nearly 5000 words of original content, we will continue with our regularly scheduled episodes next chapter.  
> Enjoy!  
> -RainingCoffee

The next morning, I wake up to a crick in my neck and a knee digging into my back. 

I have a moment of confusion until I realize I must have fallen asleep while the Doctor was talking about North American folklore. Oh, that’s kind of embarrassing. It was really interesting too.

The Doctor laughs, his hand ruffling my hair. “You actually lasted longer than I thought you would. I was running out of things to tell you.” He admits. 

Sinking further into the couch, and by extension his legs, I make a noise to show my displeasure at being awake. 

“Words, Willa.” The Doctor prompts, voice gentle. I get the feeling that he’d be fine if I didn’t want to say anything, but in return we wouldn’t be going on any adventures today. 

He taps me on the top of the head. “We wouldn’t be going on any adventures anyways.” 

“Why?” I ask, the sound garbled from sleep. 

“You had two very traumatic experiences happen to you yesterday. Today will be a rest day.” The Doctor tells me. 

I have a moment where I want to deny what he just said, but trying to lie to a guy who has a direct line to your head is probably not the best thing to do. Instead, I intentionally relax my tensed shoulders. “Okay.”

“Glad you agree.” He says, voice mild while he tries to shift positions. “Now, would you mind getting up?”

That’s weird, he normally doesn’t mind me leaning against him-Oh. I bite back a smile. “Are your legs asleep?”

“Brat.” The Doctor states, laughter in his voice. 

“I guess I’ll just stay here then, if your legs aren’t asleep.” I tell him, leaning further on his legs. 

He groans in response. “Alright. Up!”

I laugh, but do as he says, allowing him to stretch out said appendages. 

We are still out in the space the Tardis had created for us. White peaks melt into the green of pine trees, the sight breathtaking. I can almost taste the fresh air. “Where is this?” 

The Doctor hums, looking up even as he continues to rub at his right leg. “Hmm, I think this might be the Dolomites mountain range in Italy. I had a particularly interesting adventure there involving a fish, two dogs and a yeti.” 

I’m struck once again by just how lucky I am to be here. This was a set of experiences that a normal person would never get to have. I turn, smiling at the Doctor. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever said it properly. But, thank you.”

“What?” He looks at me, confused. “You don’t have to thank me for letting you fall asleep on my legs.” 

I shrug, not concerned that he missed the point. It’s enough that I know. “I’m having a moment.” 

“Ah, very important then.” The Doctor nods, face falling into serious lines. 

I roll my eyes at him. Haha, very funny. “Anyways, how did you get back from France? Rose said something about you breaking through a time window?” 

The playfulness that had been lingering behind the Doctor’s false serious expression vanishes, leaving the serious expression behind. “Yes, the droids blocked off the time windows so we couldn’t go through. The only way to get around that was to break the block, and I happened to have a handy horse.” 

“Ah, I see. Rose wasn’t very happy about that.” I tell him, remembering the confrontation last night. 

On one hand I get where she’s coming from. Things had been heading in one direction for the two of them, then the next thing you know some strange child shows up and derails everything. Time had passed for us, in ways it hadn’t happened for her yet. It had been less than 4 months since I’d shown up for Rose Tyler while years had passed for us.

But, while I could understand her side of it, I couldn’t understand the things she did because of it. The situation with the Tardis was reasonable, she had no reason to trust me then. My behavior had been incredibly erratic, and I’d only just shown up. This was different though, who took out someone’s IV when they had no idea what was inside it? There could have been something important in there. 

“Yes, well, we’ve already had another discussion about that.” The Doctor says, a hardness behind his eyes that I was starting to get used to when it came to my well being. Just because I’m used to it, however, doesn’t mean I’m okay with it.

I shift, uncomfortable with the conversation. Also, the fact that it deviates so far from what I remember of their relationship and what it should be makes the skin on my back itch. It’s like I’ve carved myself a space in this world with the result of pushing other people out of theirs. 

Shaking those thoughts from my head, I focus on the Doctor once more. “So how’d you get back? Through another time window?” 

“It’s a funny story actually.” He tells me, expression lighting up just slightly. “By breaking through the time window, I’d essentially trapped myself there. I wasn’t worried, you have enough knowledge that you’d be able to come pick me up in the Tardis, but then Reinnete showed me something.” The Doctor scoots over so I can sit down on the couch as well, and I take the invitation. “She’s moved her old fireplace to the palace. Moving it had disconnected the connection, so when I broke through and destroyed all the other time windows, that one had stayed open because it hadn’t been connected to the system. All I had to do was reconnect it and.” He wiggles his fingers. “Tada.”

The Doctor hums. “Though I never did find out why they were going after her in the first place. 

“I got that one.” I say, smirking at his confusion. 

“How’d you figure that out?” He asks. 

“It was when I tapped into the timelines, trying to figure out when and where we were.” Closing my eyes, I remember the images that came with it. “The ship we found ourselves on was called the SS Madame de Pompadour, it’s why the clockwork droids wanted her.” 

Silence is the only response, so I open my eyes to find the Doctor looking at me. His face is soft, fond. And just the slightest bit bittersweet. All of the previous seriousness has been washed away. “Oh Willa. Figuring out the plot, the mysteries.” He reaches out and tugs on a lock of my hair. “You’re growing up so fast.” 

I roll my eyes, used to him getting maudlin when it came to talk of me growing up. “I’m 22 Doctor, it’s not as if I’m that young anymore.” 

He raises an eyebrow, looking at me through those timeless eyes of his. “I’m over 900 years old. I’m afraid, dear child, you’ll always be young to me.” 

“Oh joy.” I murmur, deadpan. I’m not all that upset about it though. This unconventional family the two of us have here has become everything to me. 

The Doctor leans back, a satisfied tilt to his mouth. It’s like he knows what I’m thinking. And honestly, he’s gotten to know me fairly well over the years so I’m willing to bet he does.

I let the silence hang. Well, at least until my curiosity gets the best of me. “Are you going to tell me what you talked to Rose about?” 

“Normally I would say no. The conversation would have been between me and her.” He murmurs, directing a pointed look in my direction. “But this was about you, and things that you should expect to change regarding her, so it would be good for you to know what going to happen.”

Confused, I frown over at him. “Regarding me?” 

The Doctor nods. “Rose had no right to confront you about what happened. It was my choice to do what I did.” 

“Oh, that.” I tilt my head, thinking about it. “I can understand where she’s coming from, sort of. You guys seemed to be heading towards one direction and then I show up and everything changes. And with what happened with the whole regeneration thing.” Hesitating, I bite my lip. “Well, I told her that me doing what I was doing would save your life, so I can see why she doesn’t exactly trust me now.” Seeing as he had to regenerate anyways.

“That was also my decision. It wasn’t something that she would have had a say in either way.” He continues, voice deceptively mild. “If she wants to stay on as a companion, she needs to realize that things have changed now.” 

I keep quiet, not exactly sure what to say in response to that. It seems that all things have been doing is changing from Rose’s point of view.

The Doctor continues, voice becoming less strict. “Oh, and I noticed that you didn’t let the Iv run its course. It’s not a huge deal, and I know there were extenuating circumstances, but next time you should really wait for it to finish, or for me to be there, before taking it out.”

“Oh.” I keep my face as still as I can. Rose is already in enough trouble with the Doctor as it is, no need to make it any worse. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”

He stills, eyes focusing on my expression. “You aren’t the one who took the IV out.” 

Damn. “I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t not say that.” The Doctor murmurs, his whole body tensing. “Don’t argue semantics with me.” He tilts his head to the side, watching me closely. “Who was it?” 

I shake my head, keeping my mouth firmly closed. 

“It wasn’t you, and Mickey knows full well not to mess with things he doesn’t understand. He wouldn’t mess with your IV.” The Doctor says, though I know he’s already figured out who the person to take my IV out was. He’s doing this for my benefit, giving me a chance to be upfront with him. 

“Mickey scolded her.” I admit, not willing to continue the charade. He already knows now. “Rose thought it was something keeping me asleep, so she removed it to talk with me.” 

Lines form between the Doctor’s eyes as he thinks. “You were still looking at the two pieces of time, weren’t you?” He continues before I can verify. “And she was so angry that I decided to break through the time window that she took out your IV so she could confront you, thinking that something in the IV was keeping you asleep.” 

I hum, neither confirming or denying his theory. 

The Doctor blinks for the first time since he started this line of questioning, breaking the tension. “Well, this changes things.” 

“Take it easy on her, she wasn’t trying to hurt me. And it was only saline, so it’s not as if anything bad would have happened.” I mutter, scuffing my foot along the side of the couch. 

“And what happens when it is something important, but her temper gets the better of her once again?” The Doctor asks rhetorically. 

“I’m not saying that you’re wrong. She’s shown a lack of impulse control that’s starting to border on dangerous. What if the medicine in the IV was keeping me alive instead of just saline?” Looking down at the discarded blanket on the couch, I pick it up and start folding it to have something to do with my hands. And to prevent myself from rubbing at the headache I can feeling forming just behind my eyes. “But Rose Tyler is important. She’s going to help save the universe one day.”

Looking at me, he purses his lips at whatever he sees on my face before relenting. “She gets one more chance, that’s it. One more mark and she’s gone.” Narrowing his eyes, the Doctor reaches out and as soon as his hand touches the skin of my forehead my headache eases. 

The Doctor’s other hand immediately comes up, and he shifts until he’s cupping both sides of my face. “The barrier should have strengthened itself when I came back into this time zone, you shouldn’t be experiencing any slips right now.” 

I shake my head. “That’s something I’ve known since I first came here. When I ripped down the barrier in the first place I got a glimpse of what might happen, just a glimpse, but it was important.” 

“Willa.” The Doctor tilts my head so I’m looking straight into his eyes. “Just because someone is important doesn’t mean that you have to excuse everything they do. Rose doesn’t have any right to treat you different because she’s jealous of how things changed.” 

The confirmation of something I knew intellectually, but always wondered about emotionally causes traitorous tears to sting at my eyes. I blink rapidly, trying to pull away, but the Doctor doesn’t let me get very far. Instead, he pulls me into a hug. 

It’s very warm, his hands are so big they almost cover the majority of my back. I feel…well, I feel very loved at the moment. 

“I know-“ The Doctor hesitates. “I know you didn’t have the best home life in the other universe. But caretakers are supposed to do just that, take care of you.” His hands tighten on my back and his voice gains a sharp edge. “It’s obvious that they missed that point.” 

I laugh, the sound wet. “And if they had been better caretakers would I have ever met you? Maybe, maybe not, but I’m grateful for how my life turned out. And for where I’m at right now, even with the danger it involves.” 

The Doctor clears his throat, the sound also a little wet. “You keep throwing out things like that and I’ll end up regenerating again.” 

Rolling my eyes, I pull back. “You just had to ruin the moment, didn’t you?” 

“Hey! I can’t help it that super mushy stuff makes my hearts skip a beat.” He responds. I tactfully don’t mention the way he wipes at his face, pretending instead to look out at the mountains around us. 

“Keep telling yourself that.” I tease him, sending an impish smile his way once I’m sure he’s finished. 

The Doctor shakes his head. “You are such a brat. What have I been doing wrong these last five years?”

I hum, tapping a finger against my lips as I pretend to think about it. “Well, I’d hazard a guess that you were encouraging me to branch out and make connections, while focusing on my interests.” 

“Ah.” He murmurs, lips twitching like he’s biting back a smile. “That would explain it.” 

“As much as I’d like to stay out here for a little while longer.” I murmur, breaking the easy mood that’s fallen around us. “The Tardis has been trying to get our attention.” 

The Doctor peers over the edge of the couch, taking in the flashing light by the door with a sigh. “That’s the downfall to having companions, they always want something.” 

Biting back a laugh at the put upon tone in his voice, I send him a look. “They probably want to go somewhere, we have been in here for a while.” 

“And I already told you that we aren’t going to be going anywhere today.” He responds without missing a beat, getting up from the couch and starting to walk to the door. 

“Yes, I’m aware of that.” I tell him, voice a dry as the desert. “That doesn’t mean that you three can’t go somewhere while I stay here.” 

The Doctor pauses turning to look at me. “No.” The words come out slow, like he’s thinking very hard about something. “No, I think it would best for me to stay here for the day.”

I blink at him, taken aback. “I’m okay now. You don’t have to stay here for me.” 

“Oh Willa.” He looks at me, seeing through my lie effectively. But, thankfully, he doesn’t call me out on it. “Humor me. It’s been a while since we’ve had a day to ourselves. Maybe I just want to spend some time with you.”

Ducking my head down below the couch to hide my pleased flush, I smile. It’s a secret little thing, but undeniably there. And undeniably real. Once I get my face under control, I peer over the couch at the Doctor who’s been patiently waiting for me to reappear. “Yeah, okay, I’d like that.” 

The Doctor smiles. “I just need to take care of some stuff before hand, and then I’m all yours for the day.” 

I nod to show I heard him, and then he’s gone. Out the door and off to wherever he’s going. 

The Tardis hums, the sound falling around my shoulders in her closest approximation of a hug. I smile up at the ceiling. “I’m fine, really.” 

A burble is all I get in reply, the sound skeptical. 

“No really, I am.” I argue, starting to get a little frustrated. Honestly, I’d rather just put all this behind me and not have to think about it anymore.

The Tardis makes an electronic noise this time, and it comes across as very neutral. Narrowing my eyes at her, and her disbelief, I make the decision to ignore it. So, I get up from my sprawl on the couch and leave the room with no certain destination in mind. 

xxxx

At first it was just the murmur of voices that caught my attention. I didn’t want to be alone so I headed in that direction. Unfortunately, I end up walking right into a conversation that I really didn’t want to be a part of.

“-But I just don’t understand!” Rose’s voice becomes audible as it hits shrill levels. 

Shit, I don’t want to hear any of this. Turning around on the spot to retreat, I find myself facing a wall where the hallway had been. 

I send a truly desperate look to the ceiling but the Tardis stays silent and the wall stays put. There is a shift in the hallway though and suddenly I can hear them both as if they are right next to me. 

“-don’t have to understand.” The Doctor states, voice strict. “The only thing you have to do is accept it.” 

Rose takes a deep breath, blowing it out immediately. “Okay, let me rephrase. A girl literally appears out of nowhere and just so happens to be a member of your race, a race I might add that had been wiped out. Oh and she can also see the future. How does any of that make any sort of sense?!”

“If you don’t think I ran extensive tests before I accepted what was before my eyes than you don’t know me very well Rose Tyler.” The Doctor responds. His voice whips across the room like a blade, all sharp edges and disdain. 

There is a shift of fabric. I wonder what Rose is doing. “Sorry, Sorry, but I had to bring it up. Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious that she showed up and suddenly the man who hated any type of domestics becomes a man who doesn’t mind domestic moments with said girl.” 

“No.” The Doctor tells her. “I don’t think it’s suspicious at all. I think it’s a quirk of biology that’s natural for me.”

Rose makes a small noise of frustration. “Doctor you aren’t listening to me.”

“I’m listening to you just fine, it’s you who’s not listening to me.” The Doctor responds. 

There is a shift of cloth again, then footsteps. “I’m going to tell you this right now Rose Tyler, and for your sake I hope you listen to me properly this time. Despite anything that might have once been between us, and make no mistake there isn’t anything now. Willa is my child and that means she comes first.” 

“But why?” Rose asks plaintively, you can hear how brave she is trying to be. “Did I do something wrong?” 

The Doctor sighs. “No Rose, it wasn’t something you did. It was my decision.” There is a pause. “When I first met you I was borderline suicidal. I wasn’t actively trying to kill myself but I was taking stupid risks with little to no thought for my own life. My people were gone, I was the last, and I just didn’t see a reason to care anymore.” 

“And then I met you, a girl who kept asking questions.” The Doctor continues, voice warming for the first time in this conversation. “You kept me on my toes and I started to find that I was taking less stupid risks. I started to think about my life as something to be lived once again.” 

Rose sniffles. “I don’t understand why you are telling me this.” 

“I’m telling you this so you understand.” He murmurs. “You taught me how to live for something and I will always be grateful for that. But Willa taught me to hope again and that is infinitely more precious.”

“And we’re back to her.” Rose mutters, voice bitter. 

The Doctor’s voice hardens once more. “Yes, we are back to her. Willa is my child whether you like it or not. The only thing this continued hostility of yours is doing is making it more likely for you to get left back at home with your mother.”

“I just don’t-“ Her voice breaks. “I just don’t understand why you took to her so quickly and pushed me away.”

“Like I said before, you don’t have to understand it. You just have to accept it.” The Doctor’s voice drops a register, almost glacial now. “And if you ever endanger Willa’s life again, it’s over. You don’t get another chance.”

“What? What are you talking about?” Rose asks, bewildered. 

“Willa was in the medbay and you were so upset that you had to confront her then and there. Even took out her IV.” He elaborates. 

Rose sighs in relief. “It was only saline in the IV, it wasn’t a big deal.” 

“And did you know it was saline?” The Doctor asks. There is silence. “That IV could have been keeping her alive. That’s not acceptable, do you understand me?”

She doesn’t say anything. 

“Rose Tyler, do you understand what I’m saying to you?” He reiterates. 

Rose sniffles, her words coming out wet. “Yeah, I understand.” 

The world around me shivers, and suddenly I’m in my room instead of the hallway I had been in. Whatever the Tardis did to make it so I could hear their voices is gone. Thankfully. 

I pull in a shaky breath, clutching at my chest where my hearts are pounding. “Why did you make me listen to that?” 

The Tardis doesn’t reply. 

Though to be honest I hadn’t expected her to. She always did have a tendency to meddle, but that was a breech of privacy that I hadn’t expected her to cross. 

Though I can’t help but feel grateful, because at least it verified where I stand now. And hearing the Doctor calling me his child…it hurt but in a good way. I mean we had done it for disguises before. It’s not like that part was new, but this was at home. In a space where he had no reason to fudge the truth. I knew he cared for me, that much was certain. But he called me his child in front of Rose. And I certainly thought of him as a parental figure. 

A feeling a warmth fills my chest.

There is a part of me that still wants to be suspicious. All of the other parental figures I’ve had in my life have let me down in one way or another. What was the Doctor’s limit, how far could I go before he snapped and started to act like them?

But my heart wanted to believe that things wouldn’t change. And logic demanded that I take into consideration that fact that I’d lived with this man for over five years now and he hadn’t changed yet. 

Yes, the Doctor got mad when I put myself in danger. But he also understood extenuating circumstances. And he taught me things without getting mad when I didn’t pick them up on the first try. We went on educational trips where he encouraged me to make my own decisions. 

No, I decided abruptly. The Doctor was never going to be like my old parental figures. But then again, I already knew this. This whole situation was bringing up old insecurities. Things I thought I’d gotten over years ago. Looks like they weren’t as gone as I thought they were. 

I shake off my previous thoughts like a dog would shake off water. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking of these things. As the Doctor would say, now was the time to enjoy the moment. 

Humming, I throw on a pair of ratty clothes, something that could get dirty and I wouldn’t care. Then I pull my hair up into a ponytail before leaving my room to go in search of something to do. Maybe the Doctor is in the mood to do some maintenance on the Tardis?

Either way I don’t get very far. I’m only a few feet from my room when I hear the very man I was thinking about call my name. 

I turn to face him, a smile on my face. “Hey Doctor.” 

He smiles back at me, getting close before reaching out and ruffling my hair, completely destroying my ponytail in the process.

Disgruntled, I pout up at him through my mass of hair. “Why do you always go for the hair?”

“Because it annoys you.” He replies, cheeky. There are no shadows behind his eyes. He doesn’t look upset at all, in fact he looks like someone who really had just gone to do some chores. 

“So, what’s on the agenda today?” I ask, deciding to let things lie. It was none of my business in the first place, despite what the Tardis might have thought.

The Doctor hums. “I don’t know, what would you want to do?” 

I shrug. “I’m not picky right now.” Sending him a look full of good humor, I tease him. “Besides, you probably already have a list of activities ready.”

“It’s a flexible list.” He argues, the tips of his ears going the faintest bit red. 

“I figured.” I tell him, smiling, even as I reach out to grab his hand. “Lead on then.” 

The Doctor squeezes my hand before leading me down the hall by it. He does indeed have a whole list of things for us to do, though we only get to a couple of those things. It’s a nice day though. Reminds me of what we used to do before. 

“We should make this something we do at least once a week.” I tell him, pulling my hands back from the wiring in front of me. 

“What?” The Doctor asks from where’s he’s sitting. 

I slither out from underneath the grating and wipe my hands off on a rag that’s already fairly dirty. “We should do this at least once a week if we can.”

He frowns at me in confusion. “Tardis maintenance?” 

“Well, yes, if she needs it. But I mean we should take a day just for the two of us to do something.” I tilt my head, a thought crossing my mind. “Situation permitting, of course.” 

“No companions?” The Doctor verifies. I nod, and he hums. “Yes, I’d like that. Good idea Willa.”

I make a face at him, just to break the mood. This day has been far more emotion filled than I like my days to be and I’m kind of at my limit. 

Maybe he realizes that, because all I get in response is him rolling his eyes at me. 

“C’mon.” He urges me. “Up.”

Getting to my feet, I frown at him in confusion. “Where are we going now?”

“Food Willa.” He reminds me. “It’s dinner time.”

Oh, that would make sense. 

And so we walk down the halls until we reach the kitchen, where the Doctor breaks out an apron that says. ‘Trust me, I’m the Doctor,’ and proceeds to make me a full English breakfast. It’s night time, but I don’t argue. 

All in all, this day was a good day.


	9. Intermission again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, I’m back! And I’m not dead. 
> 
> I had a bit of writers block for this chapter. There are no episodes here, just some original content that’s mainly filler. I wanted the fluff okay! 
> 
> -RainingCoffee

The next few days are kind of awkward. I spend a lot of time with the Doctor, or in the library, ignoring the pensive looks Rose sends in my direction anytime we cross paths. 

I feel bad for her, but the Doctor is right. I’m not going to let her feelings rule my decisions anymore. Once again, the dynamic changes of regeneration force me to learn something I’d already known before. 

The Doctor either doesn’t see the tension, or he does a better job at ignoring it than I do, but he goes on like everything is normal. Well, like our old version of normal before we got full time companions. Something has changed again, the status quo has shifted. 

“What is it?” The Doctor asks, breaking me out of my introspection. 

Looking down at the book I’d been trying to read, I shrug. “Was just thinking about things, s’all.” 

He makes a neutral noise in response, but doesn’t say anything else, going back to his own reading. And that’s what I’m talking about. He’s in here, with me, like he’s been for the last week. It’s not as if the Doctor is neglecting his companions, he still spends some time every day with them, but the majority of his time is now spent with me. 

I..can’t say I’m not pleased. Because I’m essentially a selfish person and having his attention on me was more fulfilling than it probably should be, but that’s not how it was when we first took on both Rose and Mickey. 

It’s not as if he didn’t spend time with me when they came on, just, not as much as he had when it was just the two of us. 

“Alright.” The Doctor says, his book snapping shut. “That’s enough reading for me, and I’m going to assume by the way you haven’t flipped the page in five minutes that it’s enough for you too.”

I huff out a laugh, closing my own book. “Yeah, I keep getting distracted.” 

His raised eyebrow tells me that he’s restraining a ‘no really?’. A scowl of my own dares him to say it out loud. The Doctor doesn’t take the dare. 

“I was thinking we could go somewhere.” He tells me, eyes lighting up. 

Anticipation rushes through me, but I have to ask.. “Are we waiting until Mickey and Rose wake up?”

The Doctor gives me a look. “What do you think?”

Seeing as they had gone to bed a couple of hours ago, I was going to go with no. A smile curves my lips. “Random?”

“Maybe, it’s been a while since we’ve done that. Last time we ended up in-“ He tilts his head back, as if in thought. “Where did we end up again?” 

I roll my eyes at him, getting up from the armchair I’d been sitting in and making my way towards the doorway. “You know exactly where we ended up last time.” 

The Doctor catches up quickly, teasing smile firmly in place. “No, no. Really. I’m an old man, things get away from me sometimes.” 

Keeping my face turned forward, I try my best to not let him annoy me. 

It really doesn’t work. 

The Doctor laughs, bright and happy at whatever expression I’m making. 

“Shut up.” I mutter, face turning a blotchy red. It wasn’t my fault that the plants had been telepathic. And that they’d taken a liking to me. 

His hand comes down on the top of my head, ruffling my hair. My retaliatory swat is dodged successfully, and even more infuriating, my look of annoyance only causes the Doctor’s eyes to brighten. 

Hmph. 

“You know, with how much you mess with my hair I’m half tempted to cut it all short.” My hair is a disaster now so I pull my ponytail holder out, finger combing my hair back into some semblance of order before pulling it back up into a high tail. 

“Hmm, change it how?” The Doctor asks, looking interested. 

I pull some of my hair forward, over my shoulder, fingering the locks thoughtfully. “Short on the sides, close cut but not buzzed. A few inches on the top. Something that I can wear to either side. I used to wear something similar when I was in college, and I kind of miss it.” 

He smirks suddenly. “Just let me know when you want to change it, I’ll grab the scissors.” 

“Oh no, mister.” I waggle a finger at him. “I’m not letting you anywhere near my hair again!” 

“You’re sure? I think I’ve gotten better at it over the years.” The Doctor argues, lips twitching. The hallway opens up, the familiar sight of the console room coming into view.

Waving him off, I nod to the console. “So where are we going tonight?” 

He pretends to think about it, but I know he already has a whole mental room full of places for us to visit at some point so I don’t know why he’s posturing. “

And sure enough, it doesn’t take him long to choose. 

xxxx

“Okay! So. The Anadavari are a peaceful race, well peaceful after they rose up to over throw their Emperor nearly 900 years ago, who make the most incredible tapestries that you can imagine. The wool is weaved with such precision that each tapestry is like a snapshot in time.” The Doctor rambles, sticking his hands in his pockets as we walk down the market. 

People are bustling back and forth, haggling over wares or running errands. There is jewelry, pottery, food, textiles- I make a noise of surprise, my steps hurrying me over to what I think the Doctor was talking about. 

The tapestry features a girl in a field, surrounded by flowers. She had a smile on her face, hands busy making a crown of the flowers she was surrounded by. 

For a moment I could taste the air that was being depicted, something similar to honeysuckle lingering next to the tang of ozone. There was to be a storm later. I was content in my task, gathering herbs for the days work, but I couldn’t resist stopping to make a crown of flowers to bring back for my little sister. 

The Doctor’s hand covers my eyes, ripping me away from the vision. Was it a vision? Disorientation numbs my senses and for a long second I’m not entirely sure why I’m not still in the field. Then it clicks and the next breath I draw in centers me some. The smell of the marketplace filling my head instead of the flowers I had imagined. That was- “Telepathic tapestries.” 

“Exactly.” The Doctor murmurs, pressing me further back into his chest. “Sorry, thought I had a bit more time to tell you about them. Shields up, quickly now.” 

One shaky exhale later and I have passable shields in place. They weren’t something that I normally kept up, as they were incredibly draining to maintain, but I could easily be drawn into the tapestry without them. The Doctor said that it’s something I needed to practice though, and times like these I was reminded of why. 

He runs a mental hand across my shields, directing me to fix certain areas that doesn’t hold up to his mental prodding. It takes me a few tries to fix everything and by the time the Doctor deems me ready nearly 5 minutes have passed. 

I blink out into the sunshine once again, the tapestry being the first thing I see. Its pull is unmistakable, but with my shields up it’s more of a gentle nostalgia than the urgent immersion that I’d experienced. 

The shopkeeper hands a customer a rolled up tapestry, before turning to us with an indulgent smile. “We don’t often get visitors here, and even more rarely is one telepathic enough for our tapestries to pull them in like it did your youngin’.” 

“Yes, well, I’ve seen them before and wanted to show Willa how beautiful they were.” The Doctor explains, hand resting on my shoulder. His presence is still strong in my mind, an unmistakable safeguard in case my shields drop. “I just hadn’t expected them to be this far down in the marketplace, aren’t they normally up by the fountain?”

“Fountain, sir?” The shopkeeper asks, a furrow of what I’m going to assume is confusion creasing the area between his head tentacles. “Oh! Do you mean the water circle?” 

The Doctor nods. I hide a smile, loving the way that the translation circuit translates certain things. The echo of tentacles alongside his face in the manner of the Anadavari people, or at least form what I’ve seen of them, is interesting to watch. 

The shopkeeper shakes his shoulders front to back. “There are not many people who are skilled enough to make the tapestries in the first place, so they wind up in whatever area that person is able to put up a tent. I suppose last time you were here the person who was selling tapestries was closer to the watering hole.” 

There is a faint hint of confusion transferring over from the Doctor’s hand on my shoulder but he doesn’t comment on it, instead he thanks the shopkeeper and then we are on our way. 

“You’ll love it Willa.” The Doctor gestures out at the various tents. “The fountain has several statues around it to commemorate the successful coup. But the statues are made from harkensti, which has the resiliency of granite but the workability of marble.” 

I frown up at him. “Why did you say it like that?” 

His lips quirk up into a smile. “The stone workers of the Anadavari are just as skilled as the Greeks were at carving the stone. The statues are exceptional in their detail.” The Doctor pauses and I can feel him run a metal hand over my shields. “Something about the mixture of harkensti, and the Anadavari’s ability to imbue their work with emotions combined together to create quite the experience.”

“So, are the statues telepathic?” I ask, confused. He lost me halfway through his explanation. 

“Not like the tapestries.” The Doctor hums, changing tracks. “The detail on the statues allow you to see exactly what the statue was portrayed as feeling. So if the statue was happy, you also get a burst of it’s happiness.” 

And if that statue is ‘feeling’ anything else, you also get a burst of that too. What a dangerous technique. 

So the two of us meander our way towards the fountain. We do eventually reach a water feature, but it’s really more of a watering hole, just like the shopkeeper said earlier. 

The Doctor’s fingers twitch, tightening against my shoulder. A glance behind me shows a displeased frown on his face. 

“What’s wrong?” I have to ask, concerned. 

“The tapestries will have to wait for another day Willa.” He tells me, already turning us around, urging me into a fast walk. “It’s seems we’ve gotten the date a bit wrong.” 

My concern deepens as I take in the way his jaw is clenched. “How wrong?” 

He says something in high Gallifreyan, something about a deity (a curse if there was ever one), before shaking his head. His fingers tighten even more, yanking me from the street to hide behind a tent filled with beaded bracelets. “Oh, because our luck is horrible, I’d say about 900 years.”

“That revolution you were telling me about?” I whisper, tilting me head when shouting, barely audible, starts to reach my ears. 

“We need to get back to the Tardis, now.” The Doctor murmurs, already lightyears away. 

But I’m still busy making connections. “The tapestries, they were further down the marketplace than you were expecting. And the fountain, we never found it because it wasn’t there yet. That’s why the shopkeeper was so confused when you asked.” 

“Yes, good job, come now Willa.” He directs me, hurrying us across the back of the tent. The route we are taking is in the opposite direction of the raised voices, but there is something..

The Doctor’s hand tenses, but before he can do anything I jerk us into a tent full of textiles just in time for a large swath of people to round the corner. The people in the marketplace are afraid now, and they are also trying to get away from the revolutionaries. If we had stayed on the path we were following we would have been swallowed by the crowd and split up. 

He waits a beat, until most of the people are gone, before turning to face me. His hands frame my face, mind surging forward with intent. Barriers spring up, far stronger than any I’d produced earlier. Walls of Azbantium compared to my walls of dirt. “Sorry, but I have a feeling that you’re going to need them.”

It hadn’t been a vision, what I’d felt, but it had been unsettling. Almost as if-my mind shies away from the thought. 

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. Instincts like that are good, you need to pay attention when they tell you what to do.” He whispers, turning to inspect the street once more. 

I know. I know that. But. It wasn’t something that I wanted to think about. Pushing that aside, I lean in closer to the Doctor, matching his volume. “So what’s so different about this revolution? I rarely see you this stressed out about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” 

The Doctor shakes his head. It’s clear from the way his lips are pursed that he’s not going to say anything. That’s not..ideal. 

He urges us along, keeping a tight grip on my hand. I keep expecting people to rush out from somewhere like they had before. There are a couple of stragglers hanging around, but they are all rushing in the opposite direction than we are. 

Several tense minutes later, we manage to make it back to the area where we parked the Tardis. The only problem is, the Tardis isn’t where we last left it. 

I blow out a sharp breath of air, annoyed. “It can never be that easy, can it?”

The Doctor doesn’t reply, but his expression does sour even more. The curiosity burns. I want to know why he’s so upset. It takes a large amount of self control to not ask him what he’s so worried about. 

But then I don’t have to ask him, I can feel it. 

There is a subtle tug at the corner of my mental shields. I twist my head around, trying to find what’s doing it. There’s nothing there. 

“Keep your shields up.” The Doctor’s voice whips through the marketplace. “Don’t drop them for anything.” 

My hand tightens around his and I take a step closer. A chill runs down my spine at the fact I’d tried to step away in the first place. A subtle tug was all it took to get me to look in it’s direction? To step away from my caretaker and the safety he offers. 

Well, whatever this is must be incredibly strong. 

“Okay, starting to get creepy now.” I murmur into the silence. 

The Doctor tightens his grip on my hand, his mouth a stark line across his face. “We need to find the Tardis quickly.” 

So down the street we go. Whatever the presence is tugs on my shields twice more before the Doctor pulls me into an abandoned tent. 

“Willa.” He states, kneeling down in front of me. “I have to find the Tardis, but to do that I’m going to have to leave you here. It’s tracking us using your shields as a sort of echolocation almost. It’s why it keeps trying.” 

“Okay.” I nod, showing my agreement. 

The Doctor hesitates. “The shields I raised, they are the strongest I can make without completely going into you mind. But I don’t want to leave you here unprotected.” 

I frown, confused. “Then do what you have to do. I trust you.” 

“This is going to feel weird.” He says, and then I understand. 

A sort of disassociation travels over me. I am both Willa and the Doctor at the same time. But then the shields are in place, and I’m just me again. 

The Doctor places a kiss to my forehead before leaving the tent without a backward glance. 

The fog persists though. It’s almost as if the shields are so strong that I’m not perceiving the world like I normally do. Everything has a sheen to it. 

Maybe that’s why I don’t notice them until they are directly on top of me. People from the marketplace? I don’t know, but they are strong and I don’t have enough focus to struggle. 

So I allow them to pull me along. 

A gentle knocking along the outside of my shields starts up again. Whatever it is wants in. 

Our path leads us to what looks to be a central hall. It’s a large room, with dozens of Anadavarians inside. 

The tapestry that we are approaching is bigger than anything I’d seen in the market. The whole side of the room is covered in it. The tapestry itself is nondescript, just a room with a simple chair in it. But the feeling it gives off. 

I shiver under my jacket. It wants me to look into its heart, insidious tendrils creeping into my mind. I was intensely thankful that the Doctor had raised stronger shields. They were the only thing keeping me from becoming like the people around me. 

People who were definitely not in their right minds. 

Even as I sat there, trying to ignore the mental prodding, the crowd around me was growing restless. A quick glance around the room shows that nothing has changed, but then a figure steps into the room. 

The crowd stills, focusing their attention to that person. It’s an Anadavarian, no different from any of the others to my eyes, but something is clearly catching the others attention. 

The first thing he does is roll up the arms of his shirt, taking his time. Every movement is purposeful. It isn’t until he picks up a paint brush that I realize what exactly is going on. The Anadavarian slathers a line across the throne, then another, and another. A crude form of a person starts to take shape. 

I had a vague hope that by putting the paint on the tapestry that it would negate the presence, but I knew it was a fools hope. And I was right, the crowd sways with each new line, energy building. 

The knocking at my shields turns back into a tugging. Then it turns to a violent battering ram. I clutch at my head, trying to do something, anything, to stop the pain. 

Someone grabs me from behind, arms twining around my shoulders. An involuntary noise leaves my mouth, or at least I think it does. My mouth opens, my throat vibrates, but I’m essentially blind and deaf to anything around me. 

The arms pick me up, the world twists. It takes me far longer than it should to realize that I’ve been thrown over a shoulder and that whoever has a hold of me is moving fast. The farther away we get from the tapestry the more the pain in my head dissipates. Until I’m left hanging limp in my perch over the Doctor’s shoulder. The keening dies down, my voice petering out. 

It takes longer than I’m comfortable admitting to scrabble my thoughts together. “…..did you find the Tardis?”

“Yes.” He replies simply, not pausing in his long strides. 

I groan miserably. “Having mental powers really suck sometimes.” I’m getting sick of this to be honest. It feels as though half the time I walk around with a headache, or the fear of seeing to much and causing myself to bleed. “….I’m tired of being helpless..” 

The Doctor pauses abruptly, swinging me down from his shoulder so he can see me properly. He cups my cheeks with his hands, leaning down so he’s the only thing I can see. “Quiet now, I don’t think I’ve ever met another person as not helpless as you are.” 

The urge to hide my face is unresistable but the Doctor’s hands are insistent. My lower lip trembles traitorously. “..But I’m always needing you to come save me. And I was the one who couldn’t hold up to whatever that thing was, you obviously had no problem with it.” 

“If I remember correctly, you’re saving me half of the time so I don’t want to hear you use that as an example again. And the only reason that you had such an adverse reaction to the tapestry was due to the fact that it was focused on you. It probably would have been better for you to have dropped your shields, but you were holding to them stubbornly.” The Doctor murmurs, mentally poking around the warped walls of the shields he had erected. 

I glare at him balefully, gently swatting him away from the most sensitive bits. “You told me to keep the shields up!” 

“Stop that.” He scolds, doing whatever it is he’s doing. A second later a sort of cooling sensation covers the hurt. I almost sag in relief, as it is I relax into his hold. “See?”

Yeah, I see. 

“And yes, I told you to keep your shields up.” The Doctor purses his lips. “I didn’t expect to find you in the center of the coup, next to the catalyst. If I had known that I would have told you to do things differently.” 

“Hindsight is 20/20.” I murmur. 

He nods. “Exactly.” Pulling his hands away, the Doctor studies me. “Better now?” 

“Yeah, whatever you did made the pain much better.” I tell him. And it made me feel a little more emotionally stable, which I don’t say. The Doctor probably knows anyways, but I want to keep the illusion of my dignity. 

The Doctor quietly places a hand on my shoulder, leading me along. It only takes a couple more minutes to reach the Tardis, and only a second for the Doctor to pilot us away. 

No one mentions trying to hit the right time period. There’s a sort of unspoken agreement hanging in the air that we’ve had enough excitement for the day. 

“Are you okay?” The Doctor eventually asks, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. 

“….I just hate how inevitable it all seems.” I murmur after a pause. 

The Doctor nods. “And?”

There is something to be said for the stubbornness of a man who’s lived as long as the Doctor. I know what’s he’s getting at, but I don’t want to address the feeling that’s been tightening around my neck. 

“Willa” He prompts, after the silence drags on for a long while.

I close my eyes against the determined kindness I can see on his face. “I know it was a fixed point, that it had to happen. But I hate that we couldn’t do anything to help. And the fact that, well-” 

A hand cups the back of my head, pulling me into an impromptu hug. “So you do feel it, I wasn’t sure if you’d developed enough for it yet.” 

“Something’s coming.” I whisper into his chest. There is a yawning chasm on the edge of my awareness, a storm waiting to unfold. It felt as though I was going to be swept away. 

“I won’t tell you not to be afraid.” The Doctor murmurs, his mind enfolding around mine like a blanket. My fear dissipates, not gone, but smothered by the feeling of safety the Doctor elicits. “Fear is a firm motivator, one that makes you faster and stronger.”

I nod, familiar with this speech. 

“However, I will tell you to be cautious. Something is coming-“ He pauses, attention turning outwards. The same yawning chasm that I’ve been experiencing lingers on the edge of his awareness as well. The Doctor pulls his attention back to the now, shaking his head. “I don’t know what it is, but I want you to stay close for the next few months.” 

“I don’t think that will be a problem.” I murmur, still unsettled. A yawn splits my face a second later, the events of the day catching up to me. I hate that I’ve trained myself to follow a normal sleep schedule sometimes. 

The Doctor laughs, some of the tension fading from his mind. “A normal sleep schedule is important for proper development.”

Huffing, I pull back from his chest to give him a look. “And I suppose you always went to bed as a child when you were supposed to?” 

“Of course not.” He replies. I hadn’t thought so. “Which is why I don’t actually enforce a bedtime.”

Enforce huh. I’d like to see him try. Another yawn crawls up my throat. 

His amusement rises up, the metaphorical ocean surrounding my mind turning pink with affection. “And, there’s the fact that I don’t have to enforce anything when your own body does it for me.”

I blink rapidly, trying to clear the moisture from my eyes. “Point taken.” 

“Come now.” The Doctor tells me, fingers curling gently around my arm. He tugs lightly, and I follow him down the hallway. 

The thing is, when I start to crash now, I crash hard. It used to be that I could stay up for days if I needed to, but that was before I regenerated. That being said, by the time we make it to my room I’m half asleep on my feet. 

The Doctor lingers while I remove my shoes and jacket, watching as I climb into bed. Then instead of retreating off to do whatever it is he does when there isn’t someone to be around, he pulls a chair up next to the bed and takes a seat. 

I’m ridiculously grateful for it, but I’ve been emotional enough for the day so I do my best to not let it show on my face. 

Reaching out with his hand, the Doctor grabs the wrist closest to him on the bed. A soft scold resonates from the contact, and a notion that I’m several centuries to young to be able to hide things from him. 

Silly old man. I hide things from him all the time. 

“Ah, maybe. Or maybe not.” He murmurs, tapping his finger to my pulse point. 

My heartsrate immediately slows to match the tapping. “You’re cheating.” I murmur, my voice thick with the beginning of sleep. 

Soft laughter fills my mind. “Caretaker prerogative.” 

Blinking slowly, I watch the stars through my glass roof. The cosmos spin, planets being born while others die. It’s so beautiful. 

So very beautiful.

I’m asleep before I have a chance to realize it.


End file.
